Cheating Death
by MyNameIsCAL
Summary: Angel sacrifices herself and gives her powers to Fang so he can save the flock from danger,but how long can he deal with it and then Max becomes the target of danger. How far will Fang go to keep cheating death for the he and the flock? Fax and Niggy!
1. Chapter 1

**Cheating Death – Chapter 1**

By MyNameIsCAL

**So I don't own Maximum Ride or Fang or Iggy or Nudge or Angel, obviously. This is new, something I'm not entirely sure what I'm doing with, but I thought it was an interesting idea. It came to me when I was working on a chapter for another story. I decided the idea would be better for a new story, not just a couple of chapters. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this one.**

---Fang's POV---

"Something's going to happen to me, Fang."

I stared at her. "What?"

She stared at the floor. "Something is going to happen to me, Fang."

"Like what?"

"Something bad. I've already tried to prevent it. In fact, I've been preventing it for a long time. But you won't be able to stop it," Angel told me. "But I need you to do something for me."

I was confused.

"Well, actually you don't have a choice." She breathed out. "But when whatever happens to me happens, you're going to get my powers."

I frowned. "Me have your mind reading powers? And predicting the future? I think I'll pass."

"You don't understand," she said. "You need them to save the flock…Most importantly, to save Max."

"Save Max?"

She stood. "Everything will make sense, I promise. If this doesn't happen, then we'll all be dead."

"Dead? Hey wait, where are you going?"

"To say goodbye to Gazzy."

"Angel, what are you talking about?"

She suddenly threw her arms around me. "I'm gonna miss you, Fang. Tell Max that I'm sorry, ok? Thanks for everything. "

"Angel…"

A tear rolled down her cheek. "Goodbye, Fang."

And then she was gone, leaving my confused, feeling like I might cry too, but I didn't know why.

"What's wrong, Fang?" Max walked in and we stood staring at each other in foyer of our newly bought house.

"Nothing."

* * *

I sat beside Angel's bed. A month had gone by now since she had showed up to my house that night. She had just been moved to Gazzy's place, still hooked up to a respirator on life support. The doctors said there was no chance of her surviving, that she was brain dead, but we had to keep her alive.

_Things are going to be okay_, Angel whispered in my ear.

"It's been a month now," I said out loud. "I had a dream last night that I was going to come here. I didn't want to, but I already learned you can only delay things, like you said. I would have ended up here either way. But if I have to keep saving Max, keep preventing her harm and her death, what does that mean?"

_It's complicated, Fang._

"Because if I'm going to spend the rest of my life trying to make her dodge bullets, something is going to give eventually," I replied.

_Well you just have to keep pushing on with it. Things will come together later, I know it, I just don't know how or why yet._

Gazzy came into the room, exhaustion seemed to plague him permanently. Sometimes I could hear other people's thoughts, but most of the time, Angel blocked them out unless I was supposed to hear them.

"What's she saying to you?" Gazzy asked.

I sighed. "The same thing she always tells me."

"Maybe we should tell Max," Gazzy suggested.

_You can't tell Max. She'll just let herself get hurt anyway and that can't happen, not now anyways_, Angel interrupted.

I shook my head, reiterating what Angel had said.

That night before Angel had been fatefully hit by a car, she had said goodbye to everyone except Max. In fact Max was the only one who didn't have any idea about what was going on. But it was for her own well being, apparently.

"Last night we didn't go out to dinner because if we went, Max would have gotten food poisoning," I said after a while. "The night before I stopped Iggy and Nudge from going to town because Iggy would have had a fight with Nudge and was going to walk into the street to be hit by a car…"

"And me?" Gazzy asked.

"Nothing," I admitted. "You never leave, Gazzy. There's nothing that can really hurt you."

"Well," he sounded a little hurt, "I guess that's a good thing."

"I suppose so."

He adjusted the blankets over Angel. It was time for me to go.

"Oh, and Gazzy," I turned to him as I reached the doorway.

"Yeah, Fang?" He looked like he was going to cry as he stared at Angel.

"Nudge and Iggy want to know if it's ok if they still have their wedding next month." I waited for his answer, anxious that he might breakdown like he did last week.

He gave me a shaky smile. "Of course. I mean, there's no point in pushing it back. I'm sure Angel wouldn't have wanted to delay things…I don't know, she's probably told you what's best."

I shook my head. "There are still things we have to figure out on our own."

His smile was gone now. "Ah, I guess so. I'll see you later."

I nodded and left, taking a running start after I exited the apartment building and flew home.

* * *

_You should go to sleep_.

I growled and sat up in bed, thinking to Angel, _Why must you interrupt my thoughts like that_.

"Fang?" Max muttered.

"Sorry, just a bad dream," I lied, lying back down. She curled up against me and resumed sleeping.

Angel was silent for the rest of the night, leaving me to my own thoughts, but as soon as I closed my eyes, a dream would hit me.

Tomorrow would just be another day of trying to prevent someone from getting hurt.

* * *

**Thanks for reading! I hope that wasn't too confusing.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Cheating Death – Chapter 2**

By MyNameIsCAL

---Fang's POV---

Crying. I was tired of crying. Every morning was like this. Max didn't even know why I was really crying as she pulled me into an embrace, stroking my hair, whispering that it was going to be okay. I didn't like feeling like this. It made her sad too to see me like this. Max knew I was having dreams about them dying, but she didn't know that the dreams would come true if I didn't stop them from happening. I often used my nightmares to keep us from going to those places. It wasn't exactly lying, but it wasn't admitting the whole truth either.

I pulled myself together after a while, with Max's help. We lay in bed as Max told me what we were doing today.

"I don't want to go out," I muttered. The only reason I really said that was to stop what I had just dreamed of from happening.

She let out a sigh. "Well, we have to go to over to Gazzy's for dinner."

"Alright," I agreed. As far as I concluded, being home, or at someone else's home, was the safest place to be.

Max kissed me on the cheek before getting out of bed. "I'll go heat up some leftover pizza for breakfast. Is that ok?"

I looked up at her. "That sounds perfect."

* * *

Gazzy opened the door, looking more tired than me.

"Hey, how are you?" Max asked, giving him a brief hug.

He shrugged. "Nothing new, really. Iggy and Nudge are in the kitchen."

They made their way into the kitchen as I ducked into Angel's room.

_Fang, why are you in here?_ Angel hadn't talked to me all day.

"Because you haven't said anything to me all day," I replied.

_Well, I thought since you've evaded today's danger that you'd want to enjoy the rest of the day without me bothering you_, she responded.

I sat down in the chair in the corner of the room, watching the blips on Angel's monitoring systems.

_C'mon, Fang. Go eat, go enjoy yourself,_ Angel urged. _I mean, if you really need to talk, you don't have to be in here._

_I'm tired of this_, I thought back as I heard footsteps come down the hall.

_It's only going to get harder,_ Angel almost seemed to be sighing.

The door opened and Iggy came in.

"Talking to yourself again?" he tried to joke. When I didn't reply with a comeback or a laugh, he closed the door behind him. "Since when are you the one to fall apart over something like this, Fang?"

"What makes you say I'm falling apart," I hissed.

Iggy hesitated. "Max says you wake up crying every morning. I think the rest of us ought to be concerned about that."

"Concerned about me? Gazzy doesn't even leave the house!"

I was waiting for Angel to intervene in my head, but she didn't.

"I just wanted to try and help," Iggy said after a while.

"I wish you could."

"Well," Iggy shifted his weight. "Come to the kitchen now before Max begins to worry more."

* * *

Iggy and Nudge's wedding plans began to resume. Max and I tried to busy ourselves with that. There were certain things that would never put us in danger. Anywhere we went that had to do with the wedding, I never had vision or dreams about them. It was strange. I asked Angel why once and she said she didn't know.

_Maybe it's because they're supposed to get married. Things are supposed to work out like that_, she had answered. _I don't know, really._

Home and wedding planning. Things I wouldn't have to worry too much about. That was somewhat comforting, I guess. Much to Gazzy's dismay, we were getting fitted for our tuxes today.

"I don't want to go," Gazzy protested when we picked him up.

"You're my best man. You need a tux," Iggy reminded him.

"You can't even see," Gazzy grumbled.

Nudge let out a laugh and covered her mouth quickly.

Iggy let out a sigh and Max began to drive. Between all of us, we had one car we shared. It got used when we all needed to go somewhere without causing too much attention. The weather was bad today too. The last thing I wanted to happen was one of us to get struck by lightning.

The car ride was silent the rest of the way there.

PAGE BREAK!

Max got into bed next to me. I rolled on my side to face her.

"What's on your mind?" I whispered, leaning over to kiss her.

She kissed me back, slowly, before pulling away. "Well, I was worrying about you."

"You really shouldn't." I turned off the light and pulled her towards me.

Max rested against me. "And I'm worried about Gazzy."

"You wouldn't be the only one."

"Your nightmares," Max changed the subject. "Tell me about them."

I closed my eyes. "There's not much to tell about them."

"Why do you let them bother you so much?"

It was so tempting to just spill the truth to Max, but Angel stopped me.

_Don't_, she whispered in my ear. _She knows enough already. The time will come to tell her, eventually_.

_She doesn't know anything_, I answered back in my head.

_She knows your nightmares seem so real to you that it makes you wake up in tears, Fang_, she responded. _It gives you a reason to keep her from doing those things. Isn't that enough for now?_

I replied to Max now. "Because they seem so real."

She could sense the unease in my voice now, so our conversation switched back to Gazzy. "Do you think he'll ever, I don't how to put it, get over Angel?"

No. He never would, not as long as Angel was still on life support and channeling herself through me. Of course, I wouldn't say that to Max. "I think he's just hoping that the doctor is wrong, that Angel might just wake up and be ok one day."

"I guess so," she agreed.

* * *

**Thanks for reading!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Cheating Death – Chapter 3**

By MyNameIsCAL

"_I'll be right back," Max said, getting into the car. "Do you need anything?"_

_I shook my head. "Just some soda."_

_She smiled. "I'll drop the groceries off at Iggy's and then bring our stuff home. Dinner after?"_

"_Absolutely."_

_I watched her drive away and just as she reached the intersection…CRASH!_

"_MAX!" I started to run towards the flames. "MAX! NOO!"_

"Fang!" Max shook me awake. "Wake up, it's just a dream."

She pulled me against her, ready for the tears to come. I rested my head against her shoulder, my eyes closed.

"It's okay," she whispered, patting my back.

I shook against her, tears flowing now. Her arms came around me, trying to comfort me. Sometime later, I lay back down and she pulled the blankets back over us. It was three in the morning now. Max's head rested against my chest, but I didn't go back to sleep. Seeing that kind of stuff when I was conscious seemed a lot less real than when I was asleep.

* * *

"Iggy and Nudge need food," Max frowned. "I'll only be an hour."

"No," I protested. "My dream…"

"It was just a dream," she insisted.

"Then I'm coming with you," I proclaimed.

We got into the car and I anxiously started to talk to Angel in my head.

_Going with Max, will it work?_ I inquired.

It was a long time before Angel answered. _If by work you mean Max and you will survive to see another day, then yes, it will_.

_I don't understand._

_You will soon enough,_ Angel seemed to be sighing.

And then she stopped answering my questions, leaving me to hold my breath as we approached the intersection.

Things suddenly flashed before my eyes. I had only a second to react to what I saw.

"What the hell are you doing?" Max screamed as I grabbed the wheel, veering the car sharply to the left.

The impact from the other car seemed to happen in slow motion, and then things suddenly sped up like in a movie. Max was screaming my name, her hand gripping my arm, but I couldn't comprehend what she was saying. There were sirens in the distance.

"I'll be fine," I said, almost dreamily, as Max started to beg me to stay conscious.

* * *

I awoke in a hospital room, Max sitting on the couch next to Iggy and Nudge. My leg was throbbing. Pain had never been this bad before.

_It'll all heal in a few days or so,_ Angel assured me.

_Is this what you meant before?_ I replied. _That I was going to get hurt in order to save Max?_

_That's part of it. But there's still more for you to find out._

_Why can't you tell me?_

_Because right now, you wouldn't be able to handle it._

I sort of felt insulted by that, but now Max and them noticed I was awake. She was at my bedside as soon as I blinked.

"I told you I'd be fine," I murmured.

She gave me a small smile, her eyes teary. "Maybe we should have stayed home."

I shook my head. "There was no way of knowing."

Max bent down and kissed my forehead. "I'm going to get some food from the cafeteria. Do you want anything?"

"Maybe some water," I told her.

She nodded and left me with Iggy and Nudge.

"You knew, didn't you?" Iggy whispered, his eyes somehow finding me.

"I could have prevented any of this from happening, but Max insisted she needed to get your groceries to you," I sighed. "I figured if I went, things would turn out differently instead of a mass explosion like what I saw in my dream. I guess it worked out, in a sense that none of us got blown up."

Iggy grimaced. "Yeah, lucky you."

"He is lucky!" Nudge exclaimed. "His leg could have been impaled in some important place! And it just missed everything important. What are the chances?"

I closed my eyes. "Enough. Does it matter anymore?"

The fell silent.

"I'm sorry you didn't get your food," I said after a while.

Iggy laughed, but only because if he didn't laugh, we'd all breakdown.

* * *

Being stuck in bed left me with little control over Max, but thankfully, she kept me company. She sat next to me as we watched TV. The crash had made the local news.

"At least they didn't get the part when they cut you out of the car. All that blood made me sick," Max said, taking my hand.

"Oh no, the car…" I realized I hadn't even thought about what happened to the car.

"It's alright, we'll get a new one," Max assured me. "Something nicer maybe."

It didn't take long for Max to fall asleep. But I lay away for the longest time hoping this was the worse and that it would get before.

Of course, I was wrong.

* * *

**Thanks for reading!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Cheating Death – Chapter 4**

By MyNameIsCAL

The dreams. They got worse after the car accident. I started to avoid sleeping. Once Max fell asleep, I'd sneak out to the sitting room and watch TV all night. Sometimes I would catch Iggy on the computer. He had some computer program that read messages to him. Stretching my leg, I sat down in front of the computer.

Me: _Ig, you there?_

Iggy: _Yeah, what's up?_

Me: _Not sleeping_.

Iggy: _You're gonna make Max worry about you._

Me: _I can't stand seeing things as dreams._

Iggy: _I don't know what to tell you_.

Me: _I don't either_.

Iggy: _You need to sleep_.

Me: _I know. I'll go now. Night._

Iggy: _Night_.

I went back and forth between the bed and the TV, unable to sleep and unable to focus on the TV. After the fifth time of getting out of bed, Max grabbed me be the wrist.

"You need to sleep!" She pulled me into bed next to her. "Or I'm going to force you to see a doctor."

"I'm sorry," I murmured.

She pulled my arms around her and I settled against her. I let out a sigh, trying to relax. Despite all the bad visions, this was the first time I had a dreamless night.

* * *

"Are you up for going out?"

I put weight onto my injured leg. It only felt sore now. "Absolutely."

"Good," she smiled. "Because I was thinking we could grab a movie and get us some take out, have a relaxing night."

"That sounds nice," I grinned.

"Then let's get going!" She grabbed me by the hand and we hurried off down the street to the video store.

* * *

We had at least five movies picked out, but I knew we weren't going to get through the first one without ending up in the bedroom. Max stopped me behind one of the shelves, pulling me into a kiss.

"I think we should just skip dinner," I whispered in her ear.

She laughed. "I'll be waiting outside."

As she walked away, that's when I had a vision. I leaned against the shelf, my injured leg whining in pain…

_Max was outside the video store. I was paying and a black van pulled up in front of her. No, it was a minivan. It looked harmless, like you know, a family car. But the door slid open and a man grabbed her._

"_Do you like it rough?" the man growled into Max's ear. "Because I do."_

_The door slid closed and the man started to pull Max's clothes off. She tried to fight him, but he had drugged her. In broad daylight, he had just nabbed her off the curb and was driving off, molesting her._

I dropped the DVDs. "MAX!"

I tore out of the store. The van door was already sliding open. There was the man, grabbing Max already.

"STOP!" I shouted.

Max broke free from the man.

The door started to close and I stopped running, coming to a halt next to Max. I was almost out of breath now. Then the window of the van opened and I came face to face with a gun. Three shots went off and then the van pulled away. I turned to Max, staring at her uncomprehendingly.

"Oh my God, Fang!" She gasped.

I fell forward and she grabbed me, screaming for help hysterically.

_If it makes you feel any better_, I heard Angel say in my head. _You're gonna be okay._

I blacked out.

* * *

I felt numb when I gained consciousness in the hospital. There was an oxygen mask over my face. I looked around, feeling too weak to try to sit up.

The doctor came rushing in, Max at his heels. He asked me some questions, ones I could answer yes and no to with a nod or a head shake.

"You're doing very well," he assured me. I realized it was the same doctor that had treated me after the car accident. He already knew that our bodies were capable of healing us faster and better than humans.

Max took my hand as soon as the doctor left. "They had you sedated for three days with tubes shoved down your throat and everything."

Three days? How did none of them end up hurt or killed?

_They've all been around you_, Angel interrupted.

"You got shot three times." Max's voice shook. "Somehow the bullets didn't do too much ricocheting around inside of you. The doctor said usually that doesn't happen. But one hit your lung, the other lodged itself in your left shoulder, and the last one went straight through. In other words, you're one lucky son of a bitch."

I closed my eyes, squeezing her hand.

"You rest now," she said soothingly. "I'll be here when you wake up again."

I drifted off, still clinging onto her hand.

* * *

When I woke, Max was sitting in bed next to me, to my right. The TV was on and she watched it. I wondered if what happened to me had made the news. I nudged her and she turned her attention to me.

"Hey," she smiled.

I leaned against her, my head resting on her shoulder.

"Gazzy was here earlier. I think that's the first time I've seen him out of the house in a while," Max informed me. "How are you feeling?"

I slid the mask off for a second so I could answer. "Like crap."

And then suddenly, the pain in my chest seemed to intensify as another vision hit me as I gripped Max's hand…

* * *

**Thanks for reading!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Cheating Death – Chapter 5**

By MyNameIsCAL

_Max and I stood in some cemetery. A place I had never been before. There were three graves in front of us. They read _Iggy, Nudge, _and_ Angel. _This couldn't be. They couldn't be dead. Max was crying, leaning against me. I put an arm around her, confused._

_And then we were running along the streets, downtown. We ducked through an alleyway and into the parking lot, unfurling our wings and taking off. She took my hand midflight as we flew over the town, heading somewhere, but I wasn't quite sure where. This couldn't be the near future. It would probably be a month before I was ready to go anywhere._

_I smiled at Max, or at least the me in the vision I was seeing was smiling at her. In the distance, I could hear a helicopter sound. In the darkness, a red dot appeared on Max's back._

"_NO, MAX!" I shouted, lunging at her. We went spiraling towards the ground. Max hit the ground before I did. It had happened too fast for us to try to stop ourselves from falling so fast._

"_Max…" I whimpered. Pain hit me and blood was everywhere._

"_Max," I coughed again, blood coming up through my throat._

_She didn't respond…_

"Fang, are you okay?"

I opened my eyes. Max was staring at me.

_What was that?_ I thought, waiting for Angel to answer.

_That was the future_… she paused. _That was the end_.

I squeezed Max's hand, taking in deep breaths as she rubbed my arm in comfort. _The end?_

_It's preventable,_ Angel added after a while. _We just haven't figured out a way to never reach that point. We haven't figured out a way to stop it._

_I'm so tired,_ I thought back.

_Don't worry about anything for now_, Angel assured me. _You'll know if anything comes up, right away. Rest and convince Max you're okay._

* * *

Max left the hospital the next day to shower, so Iggy came to stop by for a visit.

"Nudge and I decided we're just going to have the wedding at our house," he told me.

"Why?" I asked weakly.

"Because you know Gazzy doesn't really like to go places, being home is safe, and…" Iggy paused for a moment. "The food is better when I cook."

"I'm sorry."

"I'd rather be alive than dead," Iggy muttered. "When are you getting out of here?"

"Soon," I grumbled.

The door burst open suddenly and Gazzy came in. "Turn on the news."

I struggled to press the button and Gazzy grabbed the remote out of impatience.

"The two men responsible for the attempt to kidnap a local woman have finally been caught. They are students at a university, the Institute of Technology and Evolution by Xavier. Xavier is a prestigious scientist from London who came to the US to work together with the top growing intelligent minds. Xavier opened the university to challenge today's young and growing minds," the reporter began. "Taking in only one hundred students a year, Xavier knows all of the students. We asked him about what he thought and here's what he said…"

The screen switched to a man with thick rimmed glasses. He was probably in his early forties. I had seen him on the news before.

"I cannot fathom why they would want to kidnap and harm someone," Xavier said. "They were very bright and intelligent young men. I am deeply sorry to the people they have hurt. It is in my interest to investigate why they did what they did. You can learn from anything and everything if you look hard enough…"

The screen cut back to the report. "It appears as though Xavier was caught by surprise. Authorities say they cannot find a motive to why the men attempted to kidnap the unnamed woman and attacked a man who we now know is her husband. Stay tuned for more news on that situation. We'll be right back after this break with the weather…"

Gazzy turned the TV off. "Do any of you understand what we just saw….Well, heard?"

Iggy shook his head. "No, what does it matter?"

"The Institution of Technology and Evolution by Xavier," Gazzy said slowly. "You know what you get when you take out all the insignificant words."

I thought for a moment. I…T…E…X. "Itex."

"Exactly!" Gazzy exclaimed. "Technology _and_ evolution? I mean, c'mon, it looks suspicious. Why would a guy from London come all the way here to set up a university so special?"

He had a point, but it could just be a coincidence. When I asked Angel in my head, she said she didn't know anything about it.

"I think you being home all the time has gotten to your head," Iggy responded.

That angered Gazzy, but he kept his voice steady. "I still think we should look into it. All these years we thought Itex was gone, and perhaps, maybe they're back and stronger than ever. I mean, we don't even know what happened to Jeb."

"I think he has a point," I agreed.

Iggy shrugged. "Then why don't you talk to Max?"

I closed my eyes and sucked in a deep breath. Pain was building. Gazzy and Ig needed to get out of here. They were stressing me out and I was tired.

"I had a vision today," I suddenly said. "And it ends with us all being dead. Angel says that's the end and I need to stop it from happening."

They gave me blank stares.

"But if Angel can predict that we're all gonna end up dead…" Gazzy paused. "Then how can you prevent it? It's inevitable, right?"

"I don't know," I told him, rubbing my chest, hoping the pain would subside.

"So say you tell me I'm gonna get hit by a bus tomorrow," Gazzy replied. "And I don't listen to you and go let myself get hit by the bus. Then that's it! You wouldn't have to worry about me!"

"Don't…Please don't do that," I told him.

He shook his head. "I don't think I could do that."

_Max's death would save all of you_, Angel suddenly interrupted. _It's the reason you can't tell her_.


	6. Chapter 6

**Cheating Death – Chapter 6**

By MyNameIsCAL

I tried to make light of everything that was going on. Being at the hospital, it kept Max between here and home, or at someone else's house. That reduced her chances of ending up in a situation where I couldn't save her. I'd beg her to stay, just so I could keep her safe, and because being alone in the hospital was terrifying. The doctor wouldn't let me go yet. He said another week. I felt like being here only made things worse.

"You need to relax," Max said, trying to soothe me.

"I want to go home." I must have sounded like a five year old, begging their mother that they couldn't take wherever they were any longer.

"I know." She patted my arm. "I'd like to have you home too. It's not the same being there without you."

Max was trying to get me to smile, to relax, and to either fall asleep or have a conversation with her. Iggy, Gazzy, and I decided we weren't going to tell her about our Itex theory until more research was done. Maybe the guilt was getting to me too.

"The doctor wants to give you medication to relax," she told me. "But I told him that you'd have none of that."

I closed my eyes. "Thank you."

She kissed my forehead. "Please, just rest. The week will be over before you know it."

"Are you going home?" I asked.

Max took my hand. "Well, that was my plan. I'll stay if you want."

"Please," I begged.

She slipped into bed next to me. "Alright, but you gotta sleep."

And I tried to.

* * *

Home. I was home again, but it felt bittersweet. The first thing I did was go to the backyard and unfurl my wings, stretching them from all their days of no use. It felt nice, even if I wasn't flying, to have a breeze hit them.

Max came out, holding a couple of sodas. I pulled my wings back and took a seat next to her on the steps leading back inside.

"Iggy and Nudge's wedding is in four days," she told me.

"Four?" Iggy kept changing his plans, leaving me out of the loop.

She nodded. "At their house. Just all of us and whoever's gonna marry them."

I opened my soda and sipped at it. My mind wasn't on the wedding though. I was thinking about what Angel had told me. If Max died, the rest of us wouldn't be in danger. Not that I didn't trust the rest of them, but maybe that was something I should keep to myself. And not that Max would go throwing herself in front of a bus intentionally to save us, she would give herself up to save us eventually. I wondered how long Angel had known about all of this.

Max's phone rang, derailing my train of thought. After a few yes's and no's, she closed her cell phone.

"Are you up for dinner tonight at Iggy's?" she asked.

Absentmindedly, I put my hand to my chest. The pain, it came and went. "Sure. Is Gazzy going to be there?"

Max shrugged, downing the rest of her soda. "Probably not."

* * *

_What if I killed myself?_ I wondered, staring out the window of Iggy's house. _Not, that I want to. You know, what I mean, right?_

_It wouldn't save them,_ Angel answered. _And yes, I don't think you're suicidal_.

I sighed. _It's been a few days since I've envisioned anything,_ I thought after a while.

But Angel didn't respond.

"You alright?" I expected it to be Max asking me that, as every other sentence that came out of her mouth was asking me if I was okay, but it was Iggy, walking into the TV room with a drink for me. Max and Nudge were in the kitchen, chatting away. I had left to go get some air, but ended up sitting on the couch, thinking.

"Sure, I guess I am, considering…well, never mind," I mumbled, taking the drink from Iggy.

"Dinner will be ready in five minutes," Iggy informed me. "You should get in the kitchen before, well, Max is all worried about you still."

I stood, holding my drink. "And I'm worried about all of you."

Iggy shifted his weight between his feet, like he wanted to say something else, but couldn't. The timer in the kitchen rang and he turned, bumping into the couch.

"Nice of you to join us," Max smiled, touching my arm as I sat next to her.

"Do you have any Advil, Ig?" I questioned.

He opened the cabinet, reached in, and tossed it backwards. I caught it and started to undo the cap.

"I hate when he does that," Nudge rolled her eyes. "He did that with a soda can yesterday and I missed catching it."

"Hey, Ig, catch," I said, tossing it back at him. He turned, sticking his hand out, catching it like he could see.

"Now why is it the blind man can catch better than you people with sight?" Iggy asked with a grin.

"Oh you shut up," Nudge remarked. "I'm hungry."

Iggy took a seat, placing the food in front of us.

* * *

_Angel, what happens if you die?_ I wondered, now in bed with Max asleep against me.

_Then you all die_, she replied tiredly. _Stop trying to look for a loophole. There are none_.

I sighed and stared up at the ceiling.

_I told you, it will only get harder_.

_Why me?_ She wasn't really supposed to answer, but she did.

_Because in all honesty, besides Max, you're the only one who's capable of putting your own life at risk for everyone else._

I shook my head. _That's not true_.

She seemed to sound amused. _No, I know some things, Fang. Just trust me on that_.

_You know, I don't think Max would appreciate me talking to you secretly like this_, I thought back, trying to lighten the conversation.

_Well, maybe_, Angel replied. _Go to sleep_.

_What are you, my mother?_

_Go to sleep, Fang_. And despite my other questions, she didn't answer back.


	7. Chapter 7

**Cheating Death – Chapter 7**

By MyNameIsCAL

Gazzy was late. Iggy paced the kitchen, back and forth.

"He'll be here," I assured him. But the truth was, Gazzy hadn't been answering his phone.

"I couldn't get him to come over for the past couple of days," Iggy muttered. "I'm worried."

Max came through the doorway. "Did you call him?"

I led her to the hallway between the kitchen and the bedroom where Nudge waited, in her dress. "I've called him several times. He won't pick up."

"Then I'll have to go get him," Max sighed.

It was almost comical, the idea of Max flying in a dress to force Gazzy to come here, so I shook my head and repeated what I had said to Iggy. "He'll be here."

But I called him again, standing in the hallway as Max left to go talk to Nudge.

"H-h-hello?" Gazzy stuttered.

"Gazzy, where are you?" I made a point to sound calm.

"I can't come." He sounded like he was going to start crying. Gazzy had always been the one who tried to stay strong, but there were times when he let his emotions get the best of him. Well, there were times we all did.

"Why not?" Max should be talking to him, not me, now that I thought about it.

"Because Angel, before all this happened, she had been so excited about them getting married." He sounded like a little child. "I can't go there and think about how she's not getting to see this."

"She would have wanted you to come."

"She's just telling you to say that, isn't she?"

"No, she's not. I haven't talked to her today."

"I…I need a half hour to pull myself together, alright?"

"Alright. But a minute more and Max is going to come get you."

There was a click and the line was dead. I returned to the kitchen and told Iggy that we'd only have to wait a half hour more. The minister, who had arrived here an hour ago, only nodded patiently when I told him.

* * *

Gazzy came, dressed in a suit that needed to be unwrinkled and hair that needed to be combed. He looked like he hadn't slept in days.

"I'm sorry," he said under his breath.

I was glad Iggy couldn't see the disheveled state Gazzy was in.

"It's alright," Iggy shrugged.

And then the wedding began. It wasn't extravagant. Nudge's dress hardly matched the inside of the house, but she had designed it herself back when there had been real plans, and nothing was going to stop her from wearing it. None of us were going to protest, it was her wedding. It didn't take long. They exchanged their vows. In fact, it almost seemed like a blur. Sitting on the couch watching it all happen made it seem more surreal.

"Well," Iggy said after the ceremony was finished. "Shall we get on with dinner?"

Gazzy stood and then sat.

"What's wrong?" Max asked, sitting next to him.

He looked at her and then at the floor. "I should get back to Angel…"

"Will you at least stay for dinner?" Max asked, sounding more convincing than I had on the phone.

"Alright," he agreed gruffly.

We moved into the kitchen. Nudge left to change out of her dress. Part of me felt guilty. This should have been bigger, it should have been better. But Iggy had this grin on his face that you knew would take a long time to disappear. Even Nudge seemed to radiate and light up the room.

"Fang, can you get some wine out of the garage?" Iggy asked.

"Sure." I headed down the hall.

And for what had been a few vision free days came to an end. I hit the wall, pain that had been absent for days suddenly hitting me again…

_I didn't know where I was, or who these people were. Looking around, I still had to be in Arizona. _

"_I got a Psychology final tomorrow," the person next to me said. He wasn't my age, younger. Oh, I knew where I was now. This was some sort of college university campus._

"_Good luck with that!" some other kid replied as they started to walk ahead of me. "I got Chemistry and…"_

_There was an explosion. The building in front of us exploded. The two guys that had been talking in front of me now stumbled back, walking right through me. Wherever this was, I wasn't going to physically going to be there._

"_Holy shit!" one of them shouted._

_And then there was a round of gunfire. This man, holding a machine gun, came running out of the burning building. He started to shoot, gun pointed at me, but the bullets went through me like nothing. Then I realized he had been aiming at the two kids. I was invisible._

"_No! RUN!" I shouted, but no one could hear me. Before I knew it, I was surrounded by the dead and the dying. The gunner ran, getting into an unmarked van, making an escape…_

Nudge shook me. "Fang, what did you see?"

I opened my eyes, looking around and feeling disoriented. It was only Nudge and me in the hallway.

"Some college...a bombing…a shooting," I shook my head. "None of us were there."

"But it must have something to do with us." Nudge helped me up.

_It does_, Angel chimed in. _But I don't know what_.

Nudge and I parted ways and I tried to shake the feeling of anxiety about not knowing what it had all meant.


	8. Chapter 8

**Cheating Death – Chapter 8**

By MyNameIsCAL

Mom/Ella attacked?

_I was back at the college again, standing from a different view. Those two guys I had seen before were farther away, still having their same conversation. Again, I was invisible to the people around me. One of them, a girl, walked right past through me. _

_The explosion happened as I had seen before and then the shooting started again, but there was something about her, something that I recognized. Soon enough, the shooter ran through me, after the girl, and fired more shots. She fell to the ground. _

"_I know you," I whispered, but of course, I was invisible, and she couldn't here me._

"_Help!" she screamed, clutching at her stomach, where she had been shot. "Somebody help me!"_

I sat up, looking around the room. Max, who had been leaning against me, was now stirring from her sleep.

"What's wrong?" she muttered, rolling to her other side.

"Nothing," I insisted, lying back down.

She leaned back against me, half asleep. "Just a dream, Fang. Sleep, now."

And I tried to.

* * *

The next morning, I woke and turned on the news.

"Jeez," I muttered, staring at the TV. There it was, the explosion, the sound of gunfire. Someone had caught it on their camera phone. My vision, it had come true, and I could have stopped it, I could have, but I didn't even know where that was, or how it related to me.

The phone started to ring.

_Fang, you should answer that before Max does_, Angel roused.

I stood, hurrying towards the phone. The caller ID wasn't from anyone in the flock, but I answered it anyway.

"Hello?" I cleared my throat.

"Fang, is that you?" The voice, familiar, but I couldn't remember the name. And then, "It's Dr. Martinez."

Max's mom. We hadn't seen her in a long time. As close as we lived to them, Max decided we would part ways to protect them, especially since Jeb had pulled another disappearing act on us. It had been years and years since we had even talked to her, or Ella, Max's half sister. The only thing that ever happened was an exchange of a letter when we relocated, changed numbers, or something like that.

"Yes, hi, it's Fang," I stuttered.

And then, it sounded like Dr. M was crying. "Is…is Max around?"

"She's asleep," I said slowly. "But I can wake her."

"No…no, that's alright," Dr. M insisted. "Just…If you could, I know Max might think it's dangerous, or something, but could she come to the hospital…"

My heart sank. "The hospital?"

"Yes," Dr. M said, trying to take in deep breaths. "I know Max wants to protect us, but we need her."

I closed my eyes. Why did I get the feeling this related to what I was seeing? "I'll wake her."

"Thank you, Fang."

And as she hung up, I realized that the girl I had seen in my dream was Ella.

* * *

We went to the hospital, like Dr. M had begged. It was a tearful reunion, and even Dr. M gave me a hug.

"Did you hear about that shooting?" Dr. M asked through her tears.

"Shooting?" Max shook her head, wiping her eyes.

"No…"

Max's eyes met mine.

"I saw it on the news…Ella…Ella wasn't there, was she?" I asked, trying to keep myself composed.

Dr. M nodded.

"No…" I didn't know what to say.

"She's…she's struggling," Dr. M said quietly. "The doctors…they aren't hopeful. I just wanted her to see you again, Max, in case…in case…"

"Shh, don't say that." Max closed her eyes. "She's going to be fine."

I waited outside the hospital room as Dr. M and Max went in. Part of me couldn't bear to see Ella, and maybe that made me a coward, but I just couldn't go in there and face her, to think that I could have saved her.

And now my cell phone was ringing.

"Why aren't you home?" It was Iggy.

"Because I'm at the hospital, with Max and we're with Dr. M and Ella."

"It has to do with what you saw yesterday?" Nudge must have told Iggy.

"Yeah," I sighed.

It took a long time for him to respond. "Well, call us when you've got news."

"Alright, bye."

Max came out crying, but the only thing I could bring myself to do was wrap my arms around her, letting her cry into my chest.

"It's bad, Fang," she said through her sobs.

* * *

"We should have been there to protect them."

Max was angry now as she paced our bedroom back and forth. "It was a mistake to shut them out of our lives."

"There was no way you could have known they were going to get hurt." No, I could have saved Ella, if only I knew it was her.

She took a seat on the bed, leaning against me.

"We'll go see Ella again tomorrow, if you want," I told her. _Angel, tell me Ella will be okay_.

"Alright." Max lay back, pulling me down with her. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

Angel responded a few minutes later. _I don't know, Fang. I really don't._

_

* * *

_**Alright, I'm halfway across the world now, with a 12 hour time difference, so lots of hours to write being jet lagged and all. Updates should be plentiful this week. Then next week, I might be taking a break because I'll unfortunately be without a computer for like 5 days. Anyways, thanks for reading!  
**


	9. Chapter 9

**Cheating Death – Chapter 9**

By MyNameIsCAL

Max was still shaken in the morning. It took a while for both of us to get ready and head over to the hospital. Landing and pulling in our wings, I saw Nudge standing outside.

"What are you doing here?" I asked quietly.

Nudge looked at me, and then at Max, who looked like she wanted to cry for the past half hour or so. "Iggy wanted to come see Mom and Ella. Gazzy should be here soon. He's up there already, I'm just waiting for Gazzy."

But there was something else Nudge was holding back. Max didn't see it though, and she left us, saying she had to go see Ella and Mom.

"I think he just feels guilty," Nudge said, leaning against the wall after Max was out of earshot. "You know, he always had feelings for her, not that I'll ever understand why."

"He married you, Nudge," I reminded her.

She gave me a small smile. "I know. And he knows that I know that he feels guilty, and I'm sure he'll feel guilty about feeling guilty, so he'll talk to me about it later. But it just, unsettles me, you know? I mean, I know, he even told me that he would have always chosen me over her because she's not like us, not that I have anything against humans and…"

"Nudge, stop rambling," I cut her off, spotting Gazzy making his descent. "Iggy loves you more than anything in the world, and you know that."

She looked defeated, and we watched Gazzy land a few feet in front of us. He looked anxious, like he always did, when he was out of his house. It looked like he had attempted to dress himself nicely, maybe because he was seeing Mom for the first time in years.

"Shall we go in?" I asked.

He nodded and I led the way.

Mom looked overwhelmed to see all of us there, all at once. I found myself unable to go into Ella's room again, so I waited outside with Nudge.

"What's keeping you out?" I asked quietly, leaning against the wall.

Nudge shrugged. "I'm just selfish."

The door opened and Max came out, burying her face in my chest. I put my arms around her, closing my eyes, wishing that when I opened them, all our troubles would disappear. Gazzy came out next, and he hadn't been in there all that long, but he just walked past us, muttering that he needed to go home. Nudge looked like she wanted to go after him, and even Max had lifted her head for a second, wondering if there was anything she could do for him.

"She's awake," Max cleared her throat, taking a step back. "But they've got her loaded with all these pain killers. Mom says she needs surgery again, probably tomorrow."

The door opened and Iggy came out, blinking back tears. He took Nudge by the hand and before we knew it, they were gone too.

"Well, we better go say goodbye to Mom," I said, starting down the hall.

Mom stood as she saw us making our way towards her. "Are you leaving already?"

Max opened and closed her mouth a few times. "Is there anything else we can do for you?"

Mom shook her head.

"I'll come back tomorrow, for Ella's surgery, okay?" Max said, hugging Mom.

"Thank you," I heard Mom whisper.

* * *

It was almost midnight when my phone buzzed on the bedside table. I slipped a pillow under Max's head, which had been leaning against me, and took my phone to the hall, answering it.

"Fang, I was just thinking before I went to sleep that the shooting was all connected back to when those guys tried to attack Max." It took me a minute to realize it was Gazzy. "And I was just watching the news. There are five students missing. I mean, that other school, the one with the name that spells ITEX, maybe they're experimenting on people. I mean, could that be possible, Fang?"

I thought for a moment. "But how can we be sure?"

Gazzy sighed. "Why don't you ask my sister!"

"Gazzy, she doesn't know everything," I grumbled.

"Have you talked to her today?"

"No."

"Alright, goodnight."

And he hung up before I could even say anything else. Poor kid.

* * *

I sat with Mom in the cafeteria, leaving Max in the waiting room in case the doctor came around. Neither of us was really that hungry, but food gave us something to occupy ourselves with.

"So how are things going?" Mom asked, almost nervously. "I heard about Angel. I'm really sorry to hear."

I pushed the food around my plate. "It's been hard on Gazzy. He doesn't like to leave her. But Iggy and Nudge got married recently. Max and I, well, I guess it'll be almost four years now."

Mom shook her head. "Time went by too fast. I wish you had stuck around longer."

"I do too," I agreed quietly, now moving to my drink as a distraction. "Makes me wonder if things would have…would have…"

"Turned out differently," she finished for me.

And I nodded, unsure of what else to say.

* * *

**Random Fact: "Cheating Death" was originally going to be a plot line for "The Disbanded: Divided We Stand" to give Angel more spotlight. She was supposed to foreshadow terrible events, which couldn't be changed. I realized it would make "The Disbanded" longer than I wanted it to be, and also it would take the story too far from what it was really meant to be. So I created this, the original idea changed, but still intact. **

**I think I'll randomly do that at the end of some chapters for all my fics. Make some interesting tidbits every now and again.**

**Well, thanks for reading! New chapter soon!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Cheating Death – Chapter 10**

By MyNameIsCAL

We all gathered at the hospital the next day, minus Gazzy. Mom had always been a fighter, and maybe that's where Max got it from. There were no tears to cry that morning. We all went into Ella's room, telling her things were going to be okay, that she'd be back before she knew it. This wasn't goodbye, Mom had told us before we went in.

Iggy looked like he was going to cry, but I knew he wouldn't let himself. Not in front of us. Nudge seemed less skeptical today, and as they walked out of Ella's room, he took her hand.

"Thanks…for…coming," Ella managed to croak.

Max gave her a smile. "Of course."

She squeezed Ella's hand and then left Mom with her. We waited outside in the hallway and the nurses pushed her out of the room. The next three hours would be the longest three hours of our lives.

* * *

"Fang, wake up."

I opened my eyes and lifted my head from Max's shoulder. Looking around the room, everyone still seemed to be as they were before Ella went into surgery.

"She's coming out of surgery now," Max whispered, answering my question.

That was a relief to hear.

"We won't all be able to see her," Max went on. "We'll come back in the morning, probably."

I nodded.

We watched the hallway, waiting. Then through the doors, we finally saw her being pushed back to her room. Mom stood and we watched. I suddenly felt lightheaded…

_It was dark. The only light came through the window from the moon. I lay on the floor, my leg bent in a funny position. I couldn't walk. I didn't even have the strength to push myself up._

"_Fang!" I heard screaming from the next room. "Fang!"_

_I was somewhere, in front of the TV. At first, I thought it was my hose, but then it wasn't. Looking back at the window, it was broken. There were shards of glass around me._

"_FANG!" It was Max, screaming for me._

_I dragged myself in her direction, ignoring the pain from both my legs. And then, there was a gunshot…_

"Fang!" Nudge smacked me in the arm and I opened my eyes.

Max was no longer next to me. I looked around.

"She's in Ella's room," Nudge muttered. "What did you see?"

I closed my eyes. "I saw myself somewhere in the dark, sprawled on the floor, and then there was a gunshot."

"At your house?"

I shook my head. "No, our houses are supposed to be safe."

"You didn't recognize the place?"

"No," I shook my head again.

Max came out of the room, walking towards us slowly.

"Alright, let's go home now."

We filed out of the hospital, taking off in a different direction from Nudge and Iggy. I wondered if I should be afraid of the dark now.

* * *

I laid awake, staring at the ceiling, wishing I could sleep for once.

_Fang, I think for once, I'm actually going to tell you to brace yourself_. Angel's voice scared me and I almost jumped.

"Brace myself for what?"

_For this….._

_I was at the same place again, except this time, my legs seemed to be okay. In the light, it looked familiar. Then I remembered. This was Mom's house._

"_Fang?" My name wasn't be screamed this time as Max entered through the door. We were in Mom's kitchen._

"_Yeah?" I said, turning to her._

_Without warning, there was a roar of an engine and I felt myself go flying, hitting the wall. _

"_Max!" I shouted._

_There was no answer._

_I tried to get up, but again, I couldn't. My entire body felt broken. I couldn't even move my hand._

"_Fang!" _

_I looked up to see Ella stumbling towards me, her hand over her stomach, blood staining her shirt._

"_Fang…" she dropped to the floor._

"_Ella…" I managed to say._

"_Max…Max…" And then her head went limp…_

"FANG!"

I opened my eyes. Max was kneeling over me, her hands on my shoulders. When she asked me what was wrong, I shook her off and got back into bed. This was getting worse.

_You have to see the others tomorrow, without Max_, Angel told me.

* * *

The next day, we congregated at Gazzy's house when Nudge went by herself to visit Ella. We had to do something about this.

"They can't go home," I said, flexing my fingers, glad I could use them. "They'll be in danger."

"But why were you and Max there?" Gazzy asked, still in his pajamas, his hair sticking in fifty different directions.

"I don't know," I said, trying to remember if I had seen the reason.

"Alright, so maybe if you and Max don't go there, then that won't happen," Nudge suggested.

I shook my head. "Maybe Mom and Ella need to stay with one of us."

Iggy closed his eyes. He didn't like that idea and I knew it was because he didn't want to have to deal with Ella and Mom.

"Even if they did, how are we going to convince them…and convince Max?" Nudge questioned.

Too many problems. I felt like my head was going to explode.

"We have to give them a reason not to go home," I said. "I don't know how though."

"One of us could break into their house," Gazzy offered. "Max wouldn't want them to be by themselves after that."

"It'll give Max a reason to be at the house," I said, finding a loophole in his plan.

He sighed.

"What if we bombed the place?" Iggy asked.

Nudge shook her head. "How could you even think about doing something…"

I held up my hand to silence her. "No, that might work."

* * *

**So, desperate times call for desperate measures? I think so. I'll be back on Saturday from my five day trip. Be sure to check back for updates after that!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Cheating Death – Chapter 11**

By MyNameIsCAL

Guns, knives, or just weapons in general, we never liked them. Things were better, even fairer, if you could do everything hand to hand. I made an exception for bombs though, at least the ones Gazzy and Iggy made.

"Alright, this'll damage the house," Iggy told me. "We'll put one in the garage and start a fire and one in the basement. The explosion won't be big, but the fire definitely destroy the car and the basement. They don't keep much down there anyway. Once the fire gets going, Gazzy will ding dong ditch the neighbor so they can call the fire department."

I stared at Iggy. "I don't know what I'm getting us into."

_It's the only way_, Angel replied.

"I don't either," Iggy sighed. "But we gotta get going. Max will be back soon and I should be home."

"Then go home," Iggy said. "We can do this ourselves."

I hesitated. "Okay."

"Don't worry," Gazzy said, a small smile on his lips. "We got this."

* * *

I settled down onto the couch, trying to relax. Every now and then I would flip to the news, wondering if Iggy and Gazzy had carried out their plan yet. Max would be coming in the door any minute now and I still felt like I had just gotten here. After a few minutes, I rose from the couch and started to pace.

The door opened some time later, Max coming in.

"Are you okay?" she asked me.

I stood in front of her, trying to take in a deep breath.

"Fang, sit down," she forced me to sit down on the couch.

I leaned back, closing my eyes.

"Jeez, Fang, just breathe." I felt her hand slip into mine. "What's gotten into you these past few weeks?"

I could finally feel the air getting back into my lungs. She rubbed my arm, trying to get me to relax.

"How is Ella?" I asked between breaths.

"She's gonna be fine," Max told me.

I pulled Max into a hug and she looked surprised as her arms came around me. After a while, she relaxed, her chin on my shoulder. I didn't have to say anything for her to know that I felt something was wrong. Well, I knew something was wrong, but she didn't need to know what or why.

* * *

It wasn't long before the phone rang. Even across the room from Max, I could hear Mom's panicked voice from the phone.

"I gotta go to Mom's place. There was a fire. Stay here," Max said, grabbing her keys.

I stood and went after her. "No, I'm coming."

We touched down at Mom's house a few minutes later. Gazzy was gone, but Iggy and Nudge were here, trying to comfort Mom. Most of the blaze had been put out. The damage from the outside didn't look too bad.

"Holy crap, what happened?" Max asked.

Iggy and Nudge looked away as we approached them. The fire trucks had cleared an circle around the house and we stood at the line of tape.

"They say it's arson," Mom shook her head, eyes red from not crying or crying too much before.

Max moved towards Mom, telling her words of comfort softly. Iggy tapped me on the shoulder and I followed him away from them.

"Things went as planned," he muttered. "I can't stay here and listen to Mom be like this. It's…heartbreaking."

I nodded and then he unfurled his wings, taking off, Nudge following closely behind. When I returned to Max and Mom, Max was trying to convince Mom that things would be okay.

"You can stay at our house," I suggested.

Max looked up at me and then nodded. "It might be safer. I don't think Ella getting hurt and this happening is a coincidence."

Mom nodded, unable to speak.

"And Ella is going to be okay," Max added. "That's all that matters."

Mom nodded again. I had to look away. The urge to get out of here took over and I started to run. My wings shot out and I took off.

_Fang, you can't run from this_.

"I can try!" I snarled at Angel.

_Max is going to start thinking there's something wrong with you. Keep yourself together!_

"I can barely keep everyone else from falling apart!" I wanted to hurt someone or break something. As I got closer to the house, I started my descent, fast, hurling right towards the pavement, my wings tucked behind me.

_FANG!_

My wings shot out and I landed on the grass.

_Don't do that_, Angel actually sounded scared.

"I need quiet," I grumbled. "Leave me alone."

Angel said nothing after that.

PAGE BREAK!

It was a long time before Max came home. Needless to say she wasn't very happy either. She opened her mouth to say something, but I pulled her into a hug, hoping she wouldn't be as angry after that.

Her arms settled around me and I felt her head on my chest.

"Fang, I don't understand," she whispered. "I feel like everything is just falling apart. I don't know what's gotten into you. Gazzy is just so afraid to leave his house now, and now Ella and Mom's house just got destroyed and Ella…she's…"

"Shhh, Max," I whispered.

"And you just took off today!" Max dropped her arms and broke my embrace. "I needed you to be there. So _please_ tell me what's gotten into you!"

_Don't tell her anything, Fang!_ Angel seemed to be shouting inside of my head. I wanted her to go away, to leave me alone. I wanted to be angry at her, to let go of everything, but it wouldn't do any good, not for Max, and not for the rest of the flock.

"I can't stand to watch things fall apart," I murmured. It was the truth, but not the entire reason why I've felt like running the past few days.

"Why are you lying to me, Fang?"

I closed my eyes, the room spinning around me. Max grabbed me by the arm, but I was somewhere else, unable to respond to her shouting…

"_Don't you dare tell her anything!"_

_I blinked. This wasn't some kind of vision of what could happen in the future, this was Angel standing in front of me being angry._

"_She knows I'm lying!" I shouted. "And Max knows be better than anyone else! You think I can just go around lying to her forever? This needs to stop, Angel. There has to be a way out of this without any of us getting killed or hurt more!"_

_Angel walked towards me, grabbing the front of my shirt. "I could have died and just let all of you suffer the same fate. You have to help me out, tough it out with me."_

"_I can't."_

"_Since when are you a quitter, Fang?"_

_I looked away and she let go of me._

"_You'll thank me later. When you wake up, you'll be in the hospital. Good thing you haven't eaten today. That'll be the cause for you fainting and acting strangely," Angel said quietly. "I don't like intervening like this, but I had to."_

"_You didn't have to."_

"_I did because your thoughts were screaming _I'm going to tell Max_," Angel hissed. "Goodbye, Fang. I'll talk to you later when your head is clear."_

"_It's never clear."_

_Angel rolled her eyes and darkness consumed me…_


	12. Chapter 12

**Cheating Death – Chapter 12**

By MyNameIsCAL

**Ok, for some reason FanFiction wasn't updating this when I tried switching the documents. So I deleted Chapter 12 and I am now posting it again. Hopefully this worked. I'm really sorry for the confusion. **

You know people are worried when they're crowded around your hospital bed, not just sitting around on the couch. Max was asleep against the bed, her hand leaned against mine. I blinked a few times, trying to clear my vision. Nudge was in a chair at the end of the bed, leaning against Iggy. Only Iggy seemed to be awake.

"So what happened?" he asked, sensing I was awake now.

I shook my head. "Angel made me pass out to stop me from telling Max."

Iggy looked surprised. "She can do that?"

"Apparently," I said. "And you're all supposed to think I passed out because I didn't eat anything today."

"Well I know that," Iggy said. "Max seemed to think it was her fault that she neglected that you needed to eat."

I sighed. "It's not even her fault."

_Actually, it is_.

"Shut up, Angel!"

Iggy frowned at my outburst.

I closed my eyes.

_I will knock you out again if I need to_.

"You should probably wake Max," Iggy said after a while.

"Max…" I said softly. "Max…"

She stirred, lifting her head slowly, eyes fluttering open.

"Fang!"

I took her hand, pulling her into the bed next to me.

"So exactly what happened?" I asked her even though I could clearly remember everything.

"Well, you passed out," Max said quietly, her head resting against me. "I was yelling at you and I shouldn't have. I mean, the doctor said that you passed out from not eating anything. I neglected to think about you too and you were probably at home, waiting for me, worrying, even though you just took off…"

I squeezed her hand, silencing her. "It's okay, Max."

Iggy was waking Nudge now and they slipped out of the room, probably heading home now. It had to be late.

"I'm sorry," Max said after a while.

"I should know how to feed myself by now," I said, trying to make a light joke.

She gave me a small smile, closing her eyes.

"Goodnight, Max," I whispered.

"Night, Fang."

* * *

The doctor let me out the next day, telling me that I better not come back anytime soon. I realized every time I ended up at the hospital, it was the same doctor who treated me.

"After we get some food," Max told me as we made our way to the exit. "We'll come back to the hospital to pick Mom up. The fire department is letting her go into the house to collect all her stuff. Then we'll bring her back to our house."

"Alright," I nodded. "But how are we going to bring Mom back to our house with all her stuff if we don't have a car?"

Max thought for a moment. "Well, Mom has a car. Remember, it was Ella's car in the garage."

"Oh."

I didn't know getting food meant going to Iggy's place. They all seemed tired, but when Gazzy answered the door instead of Nudge of Iggy, I figured out why Iggy would bother having us all over just for lunch.

"How was the hospital?" Gazzy asked. He actually looked like he had gotten up and combed his hair today.

I shrugged. "It's the hospital. What do you expect?"

He shrugged back in response and we took a seat in the kitchen, waiting for Iggy and Nudge to finish with the cooking.

"I'm coming with you today," Gazzy said. "To help Mom and stuff."

"Oh, okay," I was surprised.

But he shrugged again and started to eat as soon as Nudge put food in front of him.

* * *

I stepped inside the house. There was a fireman assigned to each of us, in case we started to fall or something. We went around with boxes, picking up everything we could. Mom was so happy to find that all the pictures that had been hanging on the wall had been saved because the fire had never gotten to that hallway. I helped her pull them down and fill the boxes. There was one of all of us from a long time ago, the flock, Mom, and Ella standing together in the front yard. I tried hard not to think back. It hurt too much.

Some hours later, all of us covered in soot, we started to fill Mom's car with the boxes. It looked like she was moving or something, just without any furniture. Most of the things they had, at least the ones that were most important, had been untouched by the fire. Either Iggy and Gazzy were lucky, or they really knew what the hell they were doing.

"There's not enough room for all of you in the car," Mom said, frowning.

"I'll fly home," I offered.

Gazzy nodded. "Yeah, Max can go with you, Mom."

It was like she had forgotten we could fly or something. Max led Mom to the car and Gazzy and I unfurled our wings, taking off and flying above them. The firemen watched in awe as we disappeared into the distance.

"You're not going home?" I asked Gazzy.

"No," he said over the roar of the wind. "I suddenly felt trapped today. I think I'll help you unload the car, and then I'll go."

I nodded. Well, it was good he was getting out.

We loaded the boxes into the garage, the easiest place to get them from the car. Gazzy seemed eager to help, which was a surprise. Usually he couldn't wait to go home. I mean, he was out of his house and the sun was setting now. The last time he had done that was during Iggy and Nudge's wedding.

"Gazzy, will you be staying for dinner?" Max asked.

He looked up at Max, thinking. "Well, no, I guess not. I should get my own food."

"We're ordering pizza," Max frowned. "It's not that much trouble to order another pie."

"Ah, okay, yeah, sure I'll stay," he gave in.

Max exchanged glances with me as she disappeared into the kitchen.

_What's up with him?_ I asked Angel.

_I don't know,_ she replied. _I don't go searching through their thoughts unless I have to._

I sighed and carried a pack of soda out of the garage, wondering what had gotten into Gazzy today.


	13. Chapter 13

**Cheating Death – Chapter 13**

By MyNameIsCAL

**Okay, so I keep accidentally putting up the wrong documents for stories. So if you missed Chapter 12 and were confused, you probably read Chapter 12 from my other story which I accidentally put here instead where it was supposed to be. And I went back and changed Chapter 12. So if you missed the real Chapter 12, now is probably a good time to go back and read it. I'm really sorry for the confusion.**

As Max helped Mom settle into the guest room, Gazzy and I sat on the back stoop in the backyard.

"Have you been following the news about the shooting?" Gazzy asked me

I shook my head.

"They're saying they think it might be students from that school again, whatever it was called, the one that spells ITEX," Gazzy explained.

"But then they're getting sloppy," I said.

"True," Gazzy grumbled. "But maybe it's a sign for us, Fang."

"Is that why you stuck around tonight?" I questioned.

He shook his head. "You know I go and sit with Angel when I'm home alone all the time. Sometimes I drag the TV in there and talk to her, hoping she'll talk to me even though I know she won't. I just felt lonely today I guess. I don't know. I was gonna go to Iggy and Nudge's place but they're always looking after me and I feel bad."

I frowned. "You know you're welcome to either of our places whenever you want."

"I know, but I feel like I can't carry on by myself. I mean, I know she's not dead and that she can talk to you. But why you, Fang? It's not fair."

"I don't know, Gaz," I muttered. "I ask her things all the time and she doesn't answer me unless it's important. If I asked her, she would probably just say because it's safer that way for all of us."

I was surprised when Gazzy agreed. "You're probably right."

The door opened behind us and Max came out. "It's getting late, Gazzy."

He looked at his watch, one Angel had bought for him a few Christmas ago. It looked like a bomb.

"I'm sorry to have stayed so long," he apologized.

"You can stay as long as you want," Max said. "I just wanted to tell you two that I was going to bed. I have to wake up and go with Mom to the hospital again."

I nodded and she left us again.

Gazzy sat back down. "Will you tell Angel something for me?"

"Sure."

"Tell her that I'm not angry at her."

"Why would she think that?"

He stood again, spreading his wings. "Because sometimes I just lose it and start yelling at her."

And then he was gone, off into the night.

_Angel?_ I thought.

It took her a long time to respond. _When you see him again, tell him I'm sorry_.

* * *

I tagged along to see Ella the next morning. She seemed to be doing better now, still weak, but she was talking. It was a surprise to her that I came today.

"How is everyone else?" she asked, her voice strained.

"Good I guess," I replied. "I'm sure you'll see them later."

It was her way of asking about Iggy without mentioning him. I felt bad for her. She was still out of it, so Mom and Ella hadn't told her much. I wasn't even sure if she knew about Angel.

A nurse came in with Ella's food. Well, it wasn't really food. Just liquids. She ate it slowly. It looked like it was barely edible.

"You really don't have to come see me every day, Max," Ella said.

Max shrugged. "Maybe we shouldn't have left you guys."

Ella looked like she was thinking about what Max had just said. I looked out the window, wondering why I had come. There was no reason for me to. Ella never even really talked to me when we were around. I think I scared her. Maybe it was different now that I was married to Max.

Sometime later, Max and I left to go get some food, unable to convince Mom to go even though Ella insisted it was okay.

"Do you think it was a mistake to leave them?" Max asked, taking me hand as we went down the street.

I thought for a minute. It probably wouldn't have changed anything, well, except for the fact that Iggy could have ended up with Ella instead. "I never thought it was a mistake before, but maybe now I'd reconsider."

She let out a deep breath. "I just wish we could go back and all of us be happy."

I squeezed her hand. "Me too."

We returned to the hospital after lunch. Mom was outside of Ella's room, talking to the doctor. When Mom spotted us, they exchanged a few more words and then he was gone.

"What's up?" Max asked.

Fortunately, Mom didn't look too worried. "Just discussing what will happen after Ella can go home. It'll be a long time before she can recover fully."

_I could have stopped that_, I thought to myself. _I could have saved her_.

_No, Fang, maybe that was supposed to happen_. Angel had a way with replying to thoughts that were only meant to be said to myself.

_Why haven't you shown me anything lately?_

Angel sighed. _Fang, the future is uncertain._

I wanted to answer out loud, to scream at Angel. Max suddenly slipped her hand into mine. "Is there something wrong Fang?"

I contemplated blurting everything out, but I knew Angel would just find some way to stop me, so instead I shook my head and we all headed to the parking lot after saying goodbye to Ella.

* * *

**Tensions will run high between Angel and Fang in the next couple of chapters. Maybe Max will find out the big secret they're keeping from her, and if she does, it will put all of their lives in danger. Or maybe some kind of miracle will happen. **

**Anyway, new chapter will be up during the week sometime. Check out the poll on my profile, help me out with new stories. Thanks for reading!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Cheating Death – Chapter 14**

By MyNameIsCAL

I was glad Max was occupied by Mom. In fact, it seemed like a saving grace in all the mess we were in. It took a lot out of me to lie to Max every day. She knew something was up, and if she wasn't occupied, then she would have beaten it out of me a long time ago. Angel kept nagging me, telling me not to tell Max, but I knew we had to. It was inevitable, but I needed to tell her the right.

At the end of every day, I just felt so drained getting into bed. All my energy was gone. I felt like giving up, and I might have if it weren't for Max, as selfish as it seemed, but if you've got the ability to save or get the people you love most killed, it gets hard. We had been through enough already and there were days I just couldn't take it. I wanted to fall apart, but there wouldn't be anyone to comfort me since Max didn't know.

Even the others agreed that Max needed to know soon. Angel was going to fight me until the bitter end. I didn't understand why she had nothing to tell me over the past few days. It bothered me, but it also made me feel relieved that I didn't have to go running after everyone. When Max was away with Mom at the hospital, I spent most of my time around Gazzy.

"So we can't tell her because you're afraid she'll go get herself killed to save us?" Gazzy asked.

"Yeah," I sighed. "That's basically it."

He frowned, taking a seat across the table from me. "You know, I've been looking at that school. There's a professor there. His name is Doctor Jerry Batchelder. I mean, that's Jeb's last name. It can't just be a coincidence!"

"And what are you suggesting we do?"

"We pay the doctor a visit."

I looked at the clock. We still had a good four hours before Max got home.

"Alright, let's go."

* * *

We landed on the roof of the building the doctor was apparently in. Gazzy and I wasted no time dealing with campus security. I mean, if these guys were really Itex people, we'd be dead in seconds. After squeezing through a window, we found ourselves in a small office filled with papers. A man sat at the desk, his back turned to us, facing the window.

"It's about time you show up."

The man turned around. There stood the biggest traitor we ever knew. Jeb Batchelder. I wanted to throw myself at him, blame him for all our trouble, but something held me back, and even deep down inside I knew we had to listen to him before I decided to let anger get the best of me.

"Well, it's good to see the two of you," Jeb began. "But obviously, that's not why you're here. I know why you're here. And I want to tell you, I'm trying to help."

"Help?" I wanted to laugh in his face. "If you want to help us, then tell me how we can stop all of this!"

"I'll help you get there," Jeb hushed. "But you need to listen to me. The only reason you know what's coming is because I told Angel what she needed to do. You need to listen to her, to keep Max safe. This place is exactly what you think it is. It's Itex in disguise and they're getting sloppy. They just want to kill Max because they believe that she's the only threat to them. I'm here, pretending to be part of them, to help Angel tell you what's going to happen."

"How do I know I can trust you?" I asked.

"You're just going to have to. I mean, Angel trusts me."

_Fang, you know I can't read his thoughts. But you have to trust him. He's our only chance in surviving this. I saw that we were all going to die before he came to me offering help. He knows what they're doing,_ Angel urged. _He's found a way to channel things to me which I can tell you. I would have told you about Jeb, but I knew you'd get mad. You needed to find out on your own._

That was all I had to run on? It wasn't good enough for me, but if he had gotten us this far, then maybe Angel was right. If Jeb had been helping her this time and except for my stupidity of not recognizing Ella, everyone was still safe.

"Alright," I agreed. "So now what?"

"Well, you listen to Angel. There's not much more I can tell you, Fang." Jeb seemed the same. I wanted to punch him in the face, but I knew that definitely wasn't a good idea.

"If we get through this, will Angel be okay?" Gazzy asked, more calm than I expected.

"Yes, she will be," Jeb nodded. "Now you two need to get out of here."

But I still felt like there was so much more he owed us, more that he needed to explain. I hesitated, and then led the way out. As I flew back home, I felt more lost than before.


	15. Chapter 15

**Cheating Death – Chapter 15**

By MyNameIsCAL

I couldn't sleep tonight, not after seeing Jeb, not after knowing that Angel had trusted him without asking us first. But maybe Angel was right. Maybe Jeb wasn't the bad guy. I rolled over, facing Max. She had fallen asleep a while ago, exhausted from the past week.

_Fang, you need to sleep._

"No, I'll sleep when I want to," I muttered.

_You really must stop talking to yourself out loud, especially around Max_, Angel scolded.

I sighed. _Well, stop annoying me. I want my time to think, alright? It's been a long day._

_I know, that's why you need to rest._

I ignored her, staring at the ceiling now, tracing lines on the wall, watching the moonlight like it might change positions all of a sudden, just like I felt everything right now was unbalanced. Angel continued to nag me to sleep for the next couple of hours, every now and then invading my thoughts. It wasn't until I closed my eyes that she told me to not go to sleep.

_You need to stay awake!_ She shouted.

A short vision filled my head…

_I was in bed, just like I had been before Angel brought this flash before me. I was lying there, just lying there, half asleep. And suddenly, a shadow flickered across the moonlight. There was a sound of air swooshing, and then Max coughing. Turning to my side, all I could see was blood staining the sheets, a shadowy figure standing over her…_

Jolting back to life, I saw the shadow, but it was real this time. I threw myself at the figure.

"Oh, shit!" The voice was familiar, muffled by my arm as we went tumbling to the floor. I felt something sharp in my chest.

The lights in the room came on, Max jumping out of bed.

I stared at the attacker. His eyes were full of fear as he tried to break free of my grip.

It was Gazzy.

I let go of him, sliding onto the floor. Max's eyes widened.

"I'm sorry…" That was the last thing I heard as I slipped into unconsciousness.

* * *

I wasn't surprised to wake up in the hospital. In fact, that was probably a bad thing because, well, you're not supposed to be used to that. Outside the room, through the door window, I could see Max talking to a cop, Iggy standing there looking silent. The cop left a short while later, allowing Max and Iggy to enter my room.

"Jeez, Fang," Max let out a breath, taking a seat next to the bed. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," I said.

"Gazzy stabs hard," Iggy added. "Broke a couple of your ribs too. But I guess they've got you on painkillers. I'm sure it'll hurt tomorrow."

"Thanks for your support," I remarked.

He gave me a grin, taking a seat in the chair. But it soon faded away. Max wasn't supposed to be this calm.

"I told Max," Iggy said.

I closed my eyes, feeling Max take my hand.

"There wasn't any other way," Iggy went on. "Gazzy just decided he wanted to kill her for no reason. I didn't think that would cut it."

Was that what Gazzy was trying to do? I felt a twinge of pain in my chest.

"Why didn't you ever say anything before?" Max asked.

"Because I didn't want you to go do something stupid to save all of us," I admitted. "I didn't want to lose you."

"I'm not angry at you," she said, as if reading my mind. "I…I just wish you hadn't kept it from me for so long."

"I'm sorry," I grumbled.

Max shook her head.

"I gotta go. Nudge is with Gazzy at home. The cops wanted to drag him off, but Max convinced them not to," Iggy said, standing. "I'll see you later."

Max sighed after he closed the door. I didn't want to talk to her, I wanted to wince away and drown in my guilt.

"So that's what you've all been keeping from me, huh?" Max smoothed out my hair.

I nodded.

"Your nightmares aren't nightmares, they're about things that could really happen." It wasn't a question. Max was stating the truth.

I nodded again.

She squeezed my hand.

"Losing you would be like losing myself," I said, my voice shaking. "Promise me that you won't throw yourself in harm's way to save us."

"I promise, Fang."

Max spent the rest of the night with me, trying to coax me to sleep, but I wouldn't. I didn't want to dream about what could happen, I wanted to know that when I was seeing it, I wouldn't have to wake up in tears, I wanted to know I was coming back to reality. And Max, ever so patient, ever so understanding, sat through the early hours of morning, still awake, holding my hand, trying to convince me things would be okay.

Part of me was glad that I wasn't the one to explain things to her, that Iggy and Nudge seemed to have done a good job of telling her, but a bigger part of me still felt guilty. It should have been me telling her. And I should have told her right off the bat, not waiting until I had to. Angel, who I had been wondering where she was, never answered any of my questions. I wondered if she was mad or trying to figure out what was going to happen next now that Max knew.

And as the sunlight started to shine through the windows, I finally let sleep claim me.

* * *

**We'll see how Gazzy is in the next chapter. I never wanted Max to get mad about everything. While Max can get really angry sometimes and run away, I thought it would be better, at least for this, that she would understand everything. I mean, I'd really like not to send her into a rage where she goes and does something stupid. If it makes you feel better, I'm trying not to kill anyone in this story.**

**Next chapter will be up after the weekend. Thanks for reading!**


	16. Chapter 16

**Cheating Death – Chapter 16**

By MyNameIsCAL

"Fang, what is it?"

I opened my eyes, staring at Max.

"Fang." She repeated my name.

I closed my eyes now, wishing I wouldn't have to tell her what I just saw. She took my hand and I propped myself up against her, trying to fight the tears. This was day five at being in the hospital, day five of five waking up and crying, like it had been after Angel had gotten stuck in limbo.

"What did you see?" Max asked quietly, her hand rubbing my back. "It's okay, you can tell me."

She said that every morning.

"You…you were going to buy food with Mom," I managed to say, feeling the tears go down my cheeks. "And this guy was there, trying to steal this lady's purse. But you…you tried to stop him and he…he…"

"He killed me?" Max finished.

I nodded.

"I'll see if Iggy wants to have Mom over for dinner then, alright?"

But no matter what Max did to avoid what I had seen, I still felt it didn't change anything. I knew that it bothered Max too. How do you spend time around someone that could tell you when you might possibly be killed next? I thought Max knowing would make me feel better, but it didn't.

When the tears slowed and I managed to get down a few deep breaths, Max fixed the pillows and I lay back down.

"I have to go talk to Iggy and Mom, alright? I'll be back."

But I knew that it would be a while until I saw her, probably an hour or so. I felt like the more time I spent here, the less I saw Max. But maybe being home wouldn't be any different.

_She just needs time to let things sink in_, Angel assured me.

I wondered if she knew that or if she made that up to make me feel better.

_Now's not the time to doubt Max. You know she loves you more than anything in the world_.

Sighing, I turned on the TV.

The door suddenly swung open, Gazzy entering in a run, Nudge skidding in a few seconds behind him.

"I need to talk to him!" Gazzy exclaimed.

Nudge came to a halt in the doorway, her eyes following Gazzy.

"It's alright, Nudge," I muttered. "Let him talk to me."

She closed the door, taking a seat on the couch. Gazzy was at my bedside.

"I…I'm really sorry, Fang."

I looked out the window in the opposite direction. "Are you really, Gazzy?"

He sat down. "I was angry. I just…I can't take this anymore. There has to be a way to fix this."

"How do you think I feel?" I questioned. "Do you think I like having to see you all die multiple times in a hundred different ways?"

"No…" Gazzy sounded like a little kid again.

"How am I supposed to know you won't try to kill me next? Or try to get at Max again, or even your sister?" I forced him to look me in the eye now. "How do I know that you won't try to hurt yourself?"

Gazzy's eyes fell to the floor. "I don't know."

"I…I can't babysit you, Gaz." I let out a breath. "But you lost my trust and I don't know what to do anymore."

"Because…I promise I won't do anything stupid," he said, voice shaking.

_I just want to go home…To be alone…_

Wait, those weren't my thoughts. They weren't Angel's either.

_Max knows now, things are different_._ I don't want to hurt anyone…If I went away, maybe things would be better…_

It took me a second to realize that Angel was letting me see into her brother's thoughts. I shook my head. "I don't want to push you away. We all need to get through this together."

He frowned. "Since when can you read minds?"

"I…I can't, but Angel let's me sometimes."

Gazzy stood. "Of course."

And then Gazzy was gone and out the door.

"Should I go after him?" she asked me.

I shook my head.

* * *

A week later, I was out of the hospital. The dreams seemed to get worse, but I often found myself sleeping at abnormal times, which meant Max would be out with Mom somewhere. There was no one around to comfort me anymore, and with the pain, everything just seemed numb.

But the visions I had weren't about Max anymore, they seemed to revolve around Iggy and Nudge. I reached for the phone and dialed Iggy's house number. Lately it seemed like there was tension between them.

"Hello?"

"Ig, what's going on between you and Nudge?"

He let out a sigh. "She wants a kid, Fang. But I don't think this is the right time to be thinking about that kind of stuff. I don't want to bring a kid into this world where it'll have to suffer because we're trying to dodge getting killed. It made her angry that I said that, but she knows I'm right."

"Well, whatever you do, don't get into another argument, alright?"

"You're not going to tell me what you saw?"

I paused. "Let's just say it ends with one of you running from the other and well, I'm sure you can guess what comes after that."

"Right, hail the size of minivans or a runaway train comes barreling through the neighborhood," Iggy replied. "Thanks, Fang."

And after all this time, Iggy seemed like the only one who could take this. I'm sure if he wasn't blind, Angel would have picked him to save us instead.

* * *

**Any thoughts on Max's distance from Fang? I wouldn't worry too much about it if I were you though. I'll post Chapter 17 sometime during the week! Thanks for reading!**

**Check out my new story **_**Meant to Be**_** if you get the chance. **


	17. Chapter 17

**Cheating Death – Chapter 17**

By MyNameIsCAL

"Max, I need to talk to you."

She stood in the doorway, looking tired. It was late, almost midnight. I should have been asleep, but the pain and my own thoughts had kept me up. Slowly, she moved towards the bed and got in, resting up against me.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

I let out a breath. "I feel like you're avoiding me."

It took her a minute to respond. "I…I'm sorry if it seems that way."

"I don't want to lose you," I whispered.

"Why are you worrying about that?"

"You're barely home," I answered. "It's like you're keeping your distance from me. Do I scare you, or something, Max? I mean, for the longest time, it was killing me that you didn't know, but now I feel like I wish you had never found out…"

She took my hand. "It's just…I don't know, Fang. I…

"I need to know you're not going to get yourself killed to save us," I interrupted her stuttering.

"I already promised you I wouldn't," she reminded me.

"But I feel like I'm losing you."

She sucked in a breath. When she finally answered me, her voice shook. "You're not going to lose me, Fang. I know you'd never be able to live with yourself if I went and got myself killed to save all of you."

I closed my eyes. "Then why have you been avoiding me?"

"I'm not avoiding you, Fang," she said.

And that was the end of the conversation as she let go of my hand, turning away from me. I spent the rest of the night up, wondering if I had done something wrong or if Max was just getting caught up in herself.

* * *

When I woke up the next morning, Max was already gone with Mom. There had been no visions that night and I found Iggy sitting in my kitchen as I shuffled slowly out of the bedroom, my chest still with numb pain.

"What're you doing here?" I asked.

"Well, babysitting you, to make a long story short. Max is worried about you," he answered.

"But I'm worried about her. I think she's avoiding me."

Iggy shook his head. "She's not avoiding you."

"How do you know!"

Iggy sighed. "I just do, alright? Are you hungry? I'll cook you something."

"No!" I gripped onto the tablecloth, throwing it onto the floor, taking all the plates with it. "You all know something that I don't! I'm not going to sit here and pretend everything is okay because it isn't! I am not going to listen to you tell me that my wife is avoiding me because I know she is! She wasn't even here when I woke up this morning, she didn't even say goodnight to me last night!"

Iggy grabbed me by the wrist, but I shook him off.

"Fang, please," Iggy said calmly. "Sit down, okay?"

I picked up a chair, tossing it across the kitchen.

"Fang, stop!" He made a blind grab at my other arm, but I managed to pull away.

"Get out of my house!"

I was sweating, my hands shaking as I backed away from Iggy and into the wall. My chest had gone from numb pain to this intense throbbing that hurt. Iggy dragged a chair over.

"You need to sit or you'll hurt yourself," he muttered, pushing me into it slowly. "Max will be home soon and you've made a mess of the kitchen."

I looked around, glass on the floor, a plate broken into pieces. Looking at the tablecloth, it had been new. My rage ripped a hole in it. Behind me, I could hear the garage door opening. Iggy let out breath, standing up straight. He moved towards the garage door, cursing as he stepped on a piece of glass. I closed my eyes, leaning my head back against the wall.

"Is Fang awake yet?" I heard Max ask.

"Yeah, he is," Iggy grumbled. "Actually, he rampaged through the kitchen just a few minutes ago."

"Is he alright?"

"I think he will be."

Max sighed heavily. "I should have told him before."

"I'm sure telling him now would be just as helpful."

"Are you bleeding?"

"I stepped on a piece of glass, I'll be fine. Go talk to him first."

I heard footsteps come towards the kitchen. Max entered first, Iggy hopping slowly after her. She held a couple bags in hand, setting them down on the counter. After stepping around the glass, she pulled a chair in front of me and sat down.

"Do you know what today is?" she questioned me, her hand reaching for mine.

I shook my head. "It's November."

"You married me five years ago on today," she spoke softly. "And after everything we've been through, I thought you'd like to get away for a weekend. I had planned this a while ago, but then you got hurt and all this happened, but Iggy convinced me you'd still appreciate it if we did something. But I didn't want to tell you or to make you feel obligated to do anything, and I should have told you so it didn't seem like I was avoiding you, alright? I'm sorry, Fang."

I wanted to cry, but I wouldn't. "I'm sorry I forgot."

She let out a laugh, shaking her head.

* * *

**Like I said, you shouldn't worry too much about Max and Fang. It's hard to not forget about relationships during trying times, but I thought it would be nice to put something in there with Max and Fang since it seemed like there's been a whole lot of tension between them.**

**Anyway, we'll see what they do to celebrate their anniversary in the next chapter, which I'll put up during the week. Thanks for reading!**


	18. Chapter 18

**Cheating Death – Chapter 18**

By MyNameIsCAL

Max's original plan had been to fly somewhere to get away, like Hawaii where years ago we had our first official date, the place I had brought Max back to when I asked her to marry me. But seeing that I wouldn't be up for flying and leaving that far from home was risky, she had gotten Iggy to cook for us instead, a makeshift romantic dinner right in our kitchen. It was nice of Max, but I felt guilty even though she told me not to. Then again, I felt guilty about a lot of things.

I stood in front of the mirror after taking a shower, shaving and rinsing my face with cold water. Was it me, or did I look older? Yet, I felt like none of us had really changed that much, maybe we all just looked worn out.

Entering the bedroom, I found Max sitting on the bed. She had laid clothes out for me.

"You can wear something else if you want," she offered. "I mean, wear pajamas for all I care."

I started to pull the clothes on, shrugging.

"Are you okay, Fang?"

"Yeah, maybe I'm just getting over paranoid," I replied.

She stood, pulling me into a hug. "I'm sorry, Fang."

I rested my chin on top of her head. "Do you remember when I asked you to marry me?"

"Of course I remember. We were in Hawaii, on the beach," she replied.

"And I got down on one knee, in the sand, and you said that I was going to ruin my new pants," I laughed, kneeling down on the floor, smiling.

"Then you asked if I would marry you and I said yes," she continued, taking my hand.

"I slipped the ring onto your finger…" I stood up, reenacting the motion. "And then I pulled you into a kiss."

I craned my neck, leaning in. Her arms came back around me, and I kissed her deeply. When we broke apart, Max smiled up at me.

* * *

The day seemed perfect. I lay with Max on the roof, like we had used to when we needed to get away from the flock. The sun was going down and I could smell Iggy's cooking coming from inside the house. Max had an arm across me, her head on my chest. I twisted her long hair in my fingers, watching as the day said its farewell to the sun.

What had happened earlier, we didn't speak about. Gazzy or Mom or Ella never came up in conversation either. We were in denial, and there was no hiding it, but tonight felt different, like those things had existed a long time ago, like we could stop worrying. Eventually reality would come back and hit us in the face, but it was hard not to let go, especially because we had a reason to, even if only for a little while.

"I miss this," Max whispered.

I took a deep breath, trying to relax. "I do too."

"Would it be wrong to say that I feel like we've lost each other since all this happened?"

"No, I think I'd agree with you on that."

Max didn't say anything for a long time. We let the thought of that sink in, not wanting to really believe it.

"Then let's find a way back to where everything was before," I said slowly.

She rolled on top of me, lips meeting mine. Everything started to slip away, like it was only just the two of us in the moment we were getting caught up in.

* * *

Dinner was by candlelight in the kitchen. It felt like being in our own private restaurant, Iggy our chef and server.

"Ig, you should go home," Max insisted.

He shook his head. "Nudge is looking after Gazzy."

But I got the feeling he didn't want to go home, or maybe my sixth sense I was getting was just what Angel was channeling to me. It was hard to tell the difference these days.

Max opened her mouth to say something to him, but he walked out of the kitchen, muttering he had to go to the bathroom.

"What's up with him?"

"Nudge and him have been fighting," I shrugged. "I'm sure they'll be alright."

I started to cut into my steak and Max began to eat. Iggy's food was nothing but the best, making us forget all over again about everything. I wondered if he felt the same way eating it.

"Do you remember that awful food we had on our honeymoon?" Max asked.

"Oh, yes," I laughed. "It was only awful because we've been spoiled by Iggy's cooking."

"But it was really just awful, I mean who can eat that?"

"The rest of America." I smiled at her.

"America needs better taste in food."

Light conversation continued until all the food was gone. We cleaned up the kitchen and filled the dishwasher before making our way to the TV room. Iggy left a note in there saying he had left to go home. I sighed reading it and sat down on the couch.

"Don't worry about him," Max whispered, climbing on top of me. "He'll be okay."

"Of course," I agreed, letting Max distract me from my thoughts.

* * *

**Updates will be slow for the next couple of days. I'm writing out multiple chapters in a row so when school comes around, I won't have to worry about keeping up.**

**Anyway, thanks for reading. Update should be after the weekend sometime. **


	19. Chapter 19

**Cheating Death – Chapter 19**

By MyNameIsCAL

It was almost eleven when I woke up the next morning. I sat up, looking around, wondering if this was a dream, that I couldn't have possibly gotten through forty-eight hours without having some sort of intruding vision or remark from Angel, especially since the ones I had been recently had been the worse.

I found my shirt on the floor and pulled it. Max was still asleep and I couldn't help but smile at her for a while.

And as if she could sense me watching her, her eyes fluttered open. "What the heck are you smiling at?"

I shrugged. "Nothing."

"Of course not."

I leaned down and kissed her. She was smiling now too.

"No nightmares?" she asked, trying to fix my hair with her fingers.

"Nope."

"Good." And she took my hand, leading me to the kitchen. We pulled out Iggy's dessert that we had never gotten to eat last night for breakfast, sitting on the couch watching reruns.

"Mmm this is the best pie I've ever had," Max said, her mouth full. "We gotta call Iggy and thank him."

I stuffed some more into my mouth. "Maybe you oughta ask him to make more."

"Don't talk with your mouth full, that's rude!"

I swallowed and stuck my tongue out at her. Before she could retaliate, the phone rang.

"Hello?" I answered it, still grinning at Max.

"Fang? It's Iggy."

"Hey, what's up?"

"Gazzy's locked himself in Angel's room. Could you come over to his house? I don't want to do anything stupid and Nudge isn't really in the mood to deal with him anymore." He sighed. "And whenever I try to help, she just gets mad at me."

"She's still mad at you?"

"Yeah…She'll get over it. She doesn't want to admit she's wrong."

"Alright, I'll be there in a few minutes."

Max finished her last bit of pie. "What's wrong?"

"Gazzy's being difficult. Iggy wants me to go over and talk to him."

"I'm coming with you."

"No, stay here, Max."

"You're afraid he'll hurt me again, aren't you?"

"Well, yeah, wouldn't you be afraid if he tried to kill me?"

She frowned. "I'm coming with you."

"Alright, alright, let's go."

We pulled on some fresh clothes and headed out the back, taking a running start, our wings unfurling.

"And what's up with Iggy and Nudge?" she asked, watching the houses go by us below.

"Nudge told Iggy she wants to have a kid, but he told her that it wouldn't be right to have one now, not with everything that's going on."

That seemed to make sense to Max. "It had always been their plan to right after they got married. Well, that's what Nudge told me anyway. So I'm guessing she's mad because she knows Iggy's right, but she doesn't want to admit to it."

"Yeah, pretty much."

"Well, that's Nudge for yah."

I nodded and we started our descent, spotting Iggy and Nudge sitting outside of Gazzy's house. Iggy didn't even acknowledge me when I walked by him. Max took a seat between them.

"Gazzy!" I knocked on the door. "Gazzy! Let me in!"

"No, stay away from us!"

I leaned my forehead against the door. _Angel, what's going on in there?_

There wasn't any response.

"ANGEL ANSWER ME!"

Nothing. And then, shouting from outside.

"GODDAMNIT, NUDGE YOU THINK THIS IS EASY FOR ME TO SAY NO TO YOU?"

"Iggy, where are you going?" Max's voice now.

"I WISH I HADN'T MARRIED YOU! I WISH I RAN AWAY WHEN I COULD HAVE!" Now it was Nudge screaming.

"IGGY!" Max screamed. "IGGY STOP!"

There was a screeching of wheels and then a horn honking.

I started to pound on the door. When I broke down the door, Gazzy was sitting on the floor, holding a power chord.

"No, Gazzy…"

"She's dead…"

"FANG!"

I stared at Angel.

Max came running into the room, bumping into me.

"Iggy just…"

"Angel's dead…"

"What?"

I could hear sirens in the distance. Things seemed surreal, like time had stopped. Gazzy had just given us our death sentence.

"What…what were you saying about Iggy?"

Max choked on her words. "A…a car just…he walked in front of it…and…"

And just before I thought it couldn't get worse, Jeb showed up.

"Go to Iggy. I'm guessing they'll take him to the hospital. I'll meet you there. Take Nudge with you," I tried to not let my voice waver. "I'll deal with this here."

Max backed out of the room slowly, her eyes fixed on Jeb. He was at Angel's bedside, pulling things out of some briefcase.

"How long has she been…dead?"

Gazzy was still holding the chord. "I don't know…five…five minutes? I…"

"Can you save her?" I asked.

"I don't know, it might be too late." Jeb stuck a needle into Angel's chest. "As soon as she stopped communicating with me, I knew something was wrong. Gazzy, I need you to plug that back in!"

Gazzy shook his head. "No."

"Plug it in!" I shouted.

He shook his head, gripping onto it.

"Plug it in or this won't work!" Jeb scowled.

I punched Gazzy across the face and he slid sideways, releasing the chord. I jammed it into the plug and Jeb stood. We waited, staring at Angel's monitor. The sound seemed deafening as there was no heartbeat. Jeb clenched his hands into fists, sweat running down the side of his face.

"C'mon, c'mon," he said under his breath. "Please…"

And all of a sudden, there was a little blip sound.

Jeb let out a breath. "It worked!"

Angel's voice flooded through my thoughts. _I'm okay, Fang._

And that was when everything hit me. I fell to my knees, trying to stop myself from crying.

* * *

**Alright, some exciting stuff there. We'll see how Iggy is in the next chapter and if he and Nudge can fix things.**


	20. Chapter 20

**Cheating Death – Chapter 20**

By MyNameIsCAL

"Fang!"

I wrapped my arms around Max.

"Angel is okay," I whispered.

"What?"

"I don't know how he did it, but Jeb saved her."

Max rested her head against my chest. "You're certain she's okay?"

"I talked to her on the way here. Jeb is still there with her."

"What about Gazzy?"

I rested my chin on top of Max's head. "Jeb said he'd find a way to let Angel communicate with Gazzy, to calm him down."

"You trust him?"

"Angel does."

Max was totally leaning against me now.

"How's…how's Iggy?"

"I don't know, Fang. It was bad…he flat lined on the way here. I already gave him blood."

_Angel? Tell me Iggy's gonna be okay_.

It took a while for a response. _I can't tell. It didn't happen when, well, you know, I wasn't really here._

I let out a sigh. "What about Nudge?"

"She's a mess. She had to fill out paperwork for Iggy."

Max pulled me onto the couch, shaking against me. We had nothing left to do but wait and hope that we'd make it through today.

* * *

"Is there a Mr. Ride here?"

I sat up straight. "That would be me."

"Would you come with me, please?"

"Why?"

The doctor let out a sigh. "Your friend is asking to see you and only you. He won't cooperate with us unless he talks to you."

"What about me?" Nudge spoke up. "I'm his wife."

I watched the doctor shift his weight. "I'm afraid he said he didn't want to see you."

I stood and followed the doctor, feeling Max's hand slip from mine as I left.

"Please don't upset him. I know he'll probably recover, but you know, I don't want anything to happen and…"

"I know," I cut the doctor off. "Thank you."

Looking flustered, the doctor nodded and opened the door, leaving me alone with Iggy.

"I thought I'd end up dead." Iggy looked terrible. It looked like he was bandaged head to toe, his eyes unfocused, searching for something that wasn't there.

"Nudge is worried about you."

"I don't want to talk to her."

"Then why do you want to talk to me?"

He took in a deep breath. "When I get out of here, I don't want to go home. I need you to keep Nudge away from me."

"I can't do that."

"You will if you know what's good for you."

"Iggy…"

"Don't…don't argue with me, Fang. Just go home now. Tell Nudge to go home."

I stood there, hesitantly. "Okay."

Iggy closed his eyes and I left, wondering how five minutes of Angel being dead could have made everything fall apart so quickly.

* * *

The fact that Iggy was no longer talking to Nudge meant that Nudge was no longer talking to me as I took his side. We brought Iggy home today. With all the injuries he suffered, it was a slow process for everything to be healed, and he was in a wheelchair now, but another week and he'd be back to normal. At least physically.

"Iggy, you can't ignore her forever," Max said, pushing him into the kitchen. "She's your wife."

"Then I'll divorce her and she can go run wherever the hell she wants, away from us."

"She didn't mean that. She was just angry."

"Well you know what, Max? That hurt a lot to hear, whether she meant it or not."

"Maybe some time apart is good," I managed to say.

I half expected Iggy to disagree, but he didn't. "Yeah, maybe you're right."

I sat down across from Iggy and Max took a seat next to me. We had nothing to eat really and Iggy wouldn't be cooking. But still, Max asked him what he wanted to eat.

"Can we order a pizza?" he asked. "I'd really like to have pizza."

"Of course." Max went to the phone, leaving me with Iggy.

Iggy leaned against the table, massaging his temples. "If it takes me getting hit by a car to make Nudge forgive me, then where would our relationship be heading if I didn't?"

"I'm sure she would have forgiven you," I said stiffly.

He shrugged and Max returned to the table. We sat without talking until the doorbell rang.

* * *

Nightmares. They started again, but they weren't the ones Angel projected to me. They were my own. I didn't realize how afraid I was that Iggy and Nudge might really split. It worried me more than it worried Max, and I tried to tell myself I was just being paranoid. But Angel said she couldn't see anything about it, that it didn't endanger our lives. And she had nothing to tell me as Nudge kept to herself at home and Gazzy, now better that he could talk to Angel for a short while every day.

Ella would be coming tomorrow. It made Iggy anxious because he didn't want Nudge to get the wrong feelings about him being here when Ella was here. Which only proved he still cared about Nudge. And yet he refused to see her. Although I had to agree with him that Nudge had been the stubborn one in the first place.

As the days had went by, Iggy cooked a lot to keep his mind off of things. It kept him happy, for the most part, so we let him, even though our fridge was now overflowing with food. Late at night, Max and I found ourselves trying to eat it or get rid of it in a discrete way.

"Ella can help us eat," I said, finishing the last piece of the fifth pie Iggy had baked today.

Mom was up late with us too. She just seemed to be taking everything in, not trying to interfere too much. Well, mostly because we didn't really tell her what was going on and she knew that we were keeping things from her, and still she accepted it.

"She might like that," Mom said tiredly.

Max sighed, tossing her fork into the sink. "Iggy better not cook breakfast tomorrow."

She stood and headed down the hall, muttering a goodnight to Mom.

"Well, goodnight," I said after a while.

Mom nodded and I went down the hall, finding Max curled up on the bed.

"Are you okay?" I put my arms around Max. "Well, okay, I don't think any of us really are, but you know, I'm just worried…"

"No, I'll be alright," she said, turning to face me. "We just…need to get through this."

Max kissed me goodnight and I closed my eyes, wondering if I should even bother to sleep.

* * *

**A lot happened in this chapter here. Hopefully Nudge and Iggy can fix things between them. Jeb will be coming back into the story soon and Ella will be around next chapter. Exciting stuff ahead, well at least I hope so. Thanks for reading! **


	21. Chapter 21

**Cheating Death – Chapter 21**

By MyNameIsCAL

I was home alone with Iggy, waiting for Max and Mom to return home with Ella. Today marked a week since the incident at Gazzy's house. The phone was ringing. It was Nudge.

"Don't answer it." Iggy shook his head.

I stood, going to the phone anyway. "I will not watch the two of you fall apart."

Iggy's eyes fell on me. "Alright, give me the phone."

I handed him the phone, clicking the button to pick up the call.

"Hello?" Iggy grumbled.

"Iggy!" I could hear Nudge. "Iggy, please, come home."

Iggy took a long time to respond. "I…I can't."

"I'm really sorry, Ig."

"Are you?" Iggy closed his eyes. "I need time, alright?"

"Iggy…"

"Nudge…just…I'll call you in a week."

"Ig…"

He hung up.

"You were supposed to try and talk to her," I frowned.

He flung the phone across the table and it clattered onto the floor, the batteries flying out. "I'm done listening to you, Fang! I'm not going to let you have control of the few things I'm in control of."

I picked up the phone and the batteries. "Alright, Ig, I'm sorry."

He stood, his shoulder hitting the wall as he left the kitchen. Just as his door slammed, I could hear the garage door opening. I put the batteries back in the phone and went to the door, waiting for Mom and Ella and Max to come in.

* * *

"Fang?"

I turned to see Ella, wheelchair stuck as she made too sharp of a turn to get out of the door. It took me a minute to realize she was asking for help, so I hurried to push her out of her room.

"Thanks," she said, sounding embarrassed.

"No problem," I nodded. "Where were you heading?"

"TV room."

I pushed her there, handing her the remote. Max came in a few minutes later, holding a tray of food, Mom following closely behind. She set the tray on Ella's lap. Ella had been sleeping when we ate lunch.

We all took seats, Max settling against me, looking more tired than usual. I put my arm around her and she closed her eyes, head against my chest now.

"I think we need to make an intervention with Iggy and Nudge," she whispered. "Before either of them do something stupid."

"But how?"

"I don't know, we'll think of something."

_You're running out of time._

I had to stop myself from answering out loud. _What?_

_I said you're running out of time_, Angel repeated. _Something's gonna happen and you can't stop it._

_What do you mean!_

_I won't show you because you'll try to fix it, try to save them, but you won't be able to_.

_WHO?_

_It's not one of the flock._

I turned my eyes to Mom and Ella.

"Fang?"

I looked down at Max. "I have to talk to you later, not here."

She nodded. "Okay, later then."

* * *

We lay in bed now, like most nights, starting off without talking until someone broke the silence.

"What did you have to tell me?" she asked finally.

"Angel told me I wasn't going to be able to save someone," I answered.

"Who?"

"Not one of the flock." I let out a breath. "That means Mom or Ella. She wouldn't tell me anything else."

Max said nothing.

"I almost wish Angel wouldn't have told me anything at all," I admitted. "Max?"

I felt her roll up into a ball next to me, her head against my chest. It only hit me now that I could have just not told Max because what was the point of telling someone that you knew that someone was going to die and you couldn't do anything about it, but then again, I would feel guilty if I didn't tell Max. I put my arms around her, the only response I could think of in Max's silence.

"Do…do you know how?" she whimpered.

I shook my head. "She wouldn't tell me anything. Not even if it was Mom or Ella. And I'm not sure if I really want to know anything else."

"I wouldn't want to know either." Max sniffled. "I…I don't know what I'll do if something else happens to them."

"I don't know either." I stroked her hair. "I'm sorry, Max."

"It's not your fault," she managed to say, shaking a little. "Good…goodnight, Fang."

I pulled her closer to me. "Night, Max."

* * *

It was early, but my own nightmares had awoken me again. I escaped outside, outstretching my wings, watching the sun rise. And yet the start of a new day only made things feel more uncertain.

I felt a hand on my back, between my wings. It should have startled me, but I got the feeling that freaking out wouldn't be a good idea.

"Can't sleep?" Max asked as I pulled my wings in slowly.

I shook my head. "Nightmares of my own. Angel hasn't said much to me besides what I told you last night."

Max let out a sigh. "Maybe we should have the flock over for dinner. Just so, you know, Mom and Ella can see everyone one last time."

I took Max's hand, staring off into the distance. "Does that mean we tell them what Angel told me?"

"Well, maybe." Max paused. "It might take some convincing to get Gazzy here though. Even Nudge. We should probably tell them."

"Yeah, we probably should."

"I'll tell them, if you want."

"Please…"

She nodded. "Tonight then?"

"That's probably best."

And we stood there for the next hour, watching the sun go up.

* * *

**So the question that arises is who is it going to be? Mom or Ella? I'd hate to choose. But you know, Angel could be wrong. Anyway, new chapter will be up next week. Thanks for reading!**


	22. Chapter 22

**Cheating Death – Chapter 22**

By MyNameIsCAL

"Dinner?" Iggy frowned. "All of us?"

I told Max I would deal with telling Iggy, and now I was wishing she had done it instead. She had always been better at handling everyone else's feelings.

"Just for a couple of hours," I told him. "And you can cook and we can enjoy ourselves, and try to forget, just for a while. C'mon, Ig, we're doing this for Mom and Ella."

"I don't want to talk to Nudge."

"Then you don't have to, but just promise me you won't get angry, that you'll try to get along. It's going to be hard for all of us, especially because…well Mom and Ella don't know anything."

"It's better that way, isn't it?" Iggy shook his head. "Alright, but only for them."

"Thank you."

"I'll go ask them what they're interested in eating," Iggy sighed, getting out of his chair. "And then you'll need to take me to the grocery store."

"Of course."

He walked past me, just barely dodging the side of the doorway before making it to the hall.

* * *

Gazzy came slowly into the house holding a box of soda. He shifted his weight, staring up at me.

"Hi…" He handed me the box.

"Thank you for coming," I told him, trying not to make him anymore anxious than he looked. He was probably still afraid that I was angry at him even though I never really had been. Max said he barely said anything to her on the phone, that he had just agreed to come without much protest. He just stared at me for a while, nervously playing with the buttons on his shirt. It looked like he had attempted to look nice, but his hair wasn't brushed and he looked like he hadn't been getting any sleep.

"So…where's Ella and everyone?" he finally asked, eyes falling to the floor.

"Iggy's in the kitchen cooking. Ella is with Mom in the TV room." I started to head to the kitchen. "Nudge should be here soon."

Gazzy followed me. "Are they still not talking?"

"Yeah, but we're hoping tonight might change that too."

"I hope so," Gazzy agreed. "Nudge comes over to check on me a lot now. I think…I think she's lonely."

He grumbled a hello to Iggy and trudged to the TV room. I sat at the kitchen table, wondering if I should have accompanied him or not. Then the doorbell rang. I got up and went back to where I had been only minutes before.

"Hey, Fang," Nudge said as a opened the door, a shaky smile.

"Hi, Nudge." I let her in.

"Where's Ella?"

"With Mom and Gazzy. They're watching TV."

She nodded and took off down the hallway, avoiding the kitchen entirely. I guess she was talking to me now.

I went back to the kitchen, Max now helping Iggy get food out of the oven.

"So she's here?" Iggy asked gruffly.

"Yeah, she is."

He sighed and let Max take the food to the table.

"I'll talk to her after dinner," he said quietly. "I…"

Iggy trailed off and didn't finish.

"The food's ready, why don't you get them all in here?" Max said.

I headed to the TV room. Ella and Nudge were carrying a conversation, Gazzy just had his eyes locked on the TV.

"Food's ready," I announced.

Mom pushed Ella towards the kitchen, Nudge following behind, still talking, but Gazzy sat there for a while.

"Gazzy?"

He looked up at me. "Yeah, I'm coming."

I stood there for another moment and then turned towards the kitchen. He came a few minutes later, taking a seat between Iggy and Nudge. We started to pass the food around, Mom opening up the pack of soda that Gazzy had bought. It seemed like we were struggling to keep up conversation. Not everyone was exactly speaking to each other. Gazzy hadn't said a word to Max since he got here. Nudge made it seem like that both her and Iggy weren't talking to each other even though we knew she was desperate to have him back. I found myself talking more than usual, and I wondered if it was obvious to Mom or Ella that something was wrong.

"I never want to eat hospital food again," Ella remarked, finishing the last of the food on her plate.

Iggy gave her an amused look before going back to pushing the food around on his plate. "We have pie for dessert."

"I think I'll help myself to seconds," Ella said.

We let them eat, but I wasn't really up for eating, watching all of them. My throat closed up every time I thought about how everyone was here really to say goodbye and Mom and Ella didn't even know it.

"Fang." Max rested her hand on my arm. "You alright?"

"Yeah," I insisted. "You?"

She bit her lip and I took her hand under the table.


	23. Chapter 23

**Cheating Death – Chapter 23**

By MyNameIsCAL

"Goodnight, Ella."

They all hugged her goodnight, even I did. Then Mom wheeled Ella to her room, leaving us as a flock for just a moment. Nudge threw herself at Iggy and his arms went around her.

"Iggy, I'm sorry," Nudge cried out.

"Shhh, Nudge, it's ok, I'm sorry too," he whispered.

I felt Max lean up against me and I put my arm around her. Gazzy took a seat on the couch, watching Nudge and Iggy. We stood there in silence. The only thing left to do was to see what would happen next.

* * *

We sat outside on the front stoop. It was the late afternoon and Ella wanted to get some fresh air. Iggy had finally gone home with Nudge. Gazzy stuck around though, deciding that he didn't want to go back to see Angel.

"Hey, I found some lemonade in the fridge." Gazzy came out of the house with some cups and a pitcher. "Iggy must have made it and forgotten about it."

"That sounds good, it's so hot out here," Max said, reaching for a cup.

I took a cup too and Gazzy poured us some. He gave some to Ella, Mom, and then himself last.

"Mmm, this is so good," Ella said, draining the cup. "Hey, I gotta call Iggy and beg him for how he does it."

I pulled out my phone and began to dial Iggy without much thought, draining my cup quickly. Maybe I was feeling a little tired. Max was resting against me, sipping her lemonade slowly.

"What's up?" he answered, sounding like his normal self now.

"We're having your lemonade you made," I explained, yawning. "Ella wants to bug you to tell her how to make it."

"What lemonade?" Iggy questioned.

I blinked a few times. "I don't know, when you were cooking, you must have made it…"

I yawned again.

"Fang, I never made lemonade."

I felt my eyes close and I dropped the phone, slouching over onto the ground.

* * *

"Fang, wake up!"

I tried to sit up, buy me head began to seer with pain.

"Stop, you cut your head."

I looked up, trying to see who was talking, but my vision was blurred.

"I hate blood," the voice grumbled. "Shit, man, you hit your head hard."

"Who…who are you?" I stuttered.

"Gazzy," the voice sighed. "Now hold still, or you'll hurt yourself."

"What…w…what happened?"

I felt something cold go against my forehead. "They took Mom and Ella."

"B…both?" Things were starting to get clearer again.

"Yeah, Max is a wreck," he said, avoiding my eyes. "She came to first. Iggy and Nudge are here."

I was still outside, lying on the ground. The sky was dark now.

"How long have I…I been out?"

"A while. You had more than we did," Gazzy said, sticking a gauze against my forehead and then some tape. "I don't know, we were knocked out pretty hard."

When Gazzy was finished, he helped me up and into the house. A few minutes later, after some struggle, he got me into my bedroom.

"Max will be here in a few minutes," he muttered. "She wants us to all stay here for the night."

I rubbed my eyes, still feeling drowsy.

"This was my fault, Fang."

"No…no it wasn't," I insisted.

"If only I hadn't wanted that stupid lemonade."

"It could have been any of us."

Max entered the room and Gazzy left in a hurry. She got into bed, pulling the blanket over us.

"You never said both of them." She shivered, putting her arm around me.

"Angel never…"

"I know," she said, not allowing me to fumble over my words. "How could that happen though?"

I opened my mouth, but words couldn't come out.

"Don't worry, Fang. It took a long time for us to get Gazzy to talk after he woke up. I had to text Iggy and Nudge." Max let out a sigh. "I just…I need rest, Fang, everyone does. Maybe Angel will tell you something else."

"M…Maybe," I nodded.

And then silence took over us and we said not another word until morning.

* * *

"They're only gone, Angel. They're not dead," I stated, standing in the bathroom.

_Maybe you're right, but I don't have much of a connection to them. _

"Have you talked to Jeb?"

_He says he doesn't know anything. They're plotting something. Something big. _

"We're not ready to get hit again, Angel," I said, leaning towards the sink, rinsing my face. "How much farther are we gonna get pushed?"

_I don't know, Fang. Jeb might try to contact you. You should listen to him._

"Right, of course." I turned off the sink. "I'm starting to think this is going nowhere."

The door opened and Max came in, shuffling towards her sink. "Are you talking to yourself?"

"No, I was talking to Angel," I muttered.

"Oh, right."

We stood there for a long time. I was waiting for her to break down, or to get angry at me, but then she turned back to the sink and I left after another minute, wondering if the others were still around.

Iggy sat in the kitchen with Nudge, both of them looking tired. Gazzy was sitting in front of the TV, staring at it, but it wasn't on, and I got the feeling he was sitting there blaming himself for what had happened. No one talked as I took a seat at the table. I mean, what was there to say?


	24. Chapter 24

**Cheating Death – Chapter 24**

By MyNameIsCAL

Jeb rang the doorbell at midnight. The flock was still here, and I answered it tiredly.

"Can I come in?"

I moved out of his way and he hurried in. All of us were still awake.

"I need to talk to all of you, quickly," he said in rush.

We gathered around the kitchen table and he put his briefcase on it.

And then he pulled out a gun, shooting me in the chest. I looked down. There wasn't blood. Instead, it was a nice little dart.

I collapsed to the floor hearing five other swooshes.

* * *

I woke up in a cage, thinking this was some kind of nightmare, but it wasn't.

"Oh my God, Fang!" Nudge was in a cage across from me. "Are you okay?"

I tried lifting my head, but pain overwhelmed me.

"Max! Fang's awake!"

"Fang!"

Max was next to me in another cage.

"Fang, are you okay?" she asked me.

I lifted my head, the pain was dying down.

"You hit your head on the table when you fell," Max told me. "Iggy's still out because Jeb shot him twice and Gazzy isn't here."

_Angel, what the fuck happened?_

There was no response.

Crap.

"Fang, say something."

I sat up and stuck my arm through the cage, taking Max's hand. "I'm alright, Max."

She leaned her hand against one of the bars, letting out a breath.

_First Angel, now Gazzy. What am I going to do? They're going to expect me to have a plan even though we haven't done anything in years. I'm not ready for this. No one should ever have to be ready for this._

That wasn't Angel's voice. I shut my eyes and I felt Max's grip tighten on my hand.

_Fang, please be okay._

"I'll be okay," I heard myself respond.

She blinked. _Now I'm imagining things_.

"Imagining what?"

Max hesitated to ask. "Are you reading my mind?"

"I guess so," I mumbled. "I…I didn't mean to."

She shook her head.

"I can't get Angel to answer me," I muttered. "But she always kept your thoughts from me. I could read them if she wanted me to…She must not be trying to stop me now, or something's happened."

But reading people's minds was like having voices in your head. I couldn't block them out and my head was starting to hurt, making Max all concerned. I wanted to shut their thoughts out. How could Angel stand this?

"Fang…"

"Hey, Fang!"

"Can you all think about nothing?" I let go of Max's hand and covered my ears, leaning against the cage. "Please."

"Shh…Fang." Max ran her fingers through my hair. _Here, talk to me. You can hear me, right?_

I nodded. _Yes, I can_.

_This is…different,_ she replied. _Angel always had stuff to say about my thoughts_.

_What do you mean?_

_Well, most of the time, my thoughts were about you, and well, Angel was always interested in my thoughts about you._

_But half the stuff you think about me I already know._

_That's why it's different._

"Hey, guys, I don't mean to interrupt your conversation, but someone is coming," Nudge whispered.

I looked up. The thoughts rushing back into my head again, keeping me lying down against the cage.

_See if you can hear anything from that white coat_, Max seemed to whisper to me.

I nodded and focused on him, but there was nothing. It was like he was dead. I told Max, closing my eyes as the white coat spoke.

"You'll have a chance to redeem yourselves," the white coat growled. "But first we're going to run a few tests. You're first!"

He unlocked Max's cage and dragged her out. I watched helplessly.

_I'll be okay, Fang_. And that was the last I heard from her until she returned bloodied and bruised.

* * *

Iggy came around when Max was gone. He seemed a little dazed and still a little bit drowsy, trying to make sense of everything. Nudge explained to him what happened and he sat up, yawning.

"What, you can hear everything I'm thinking?" Iggy asked.

"Yeah, pretty much."

He blinked a few times. "That's…creepy."

I resisted the urge to get angry. Or maybe I was too weak for that.

"We'll be back in the morning!"

The white coat was back, shoving Max into her cage. Again, there was nothing from him.

_I'm okay_, Max assured me, and then out loud. "I saw Gazzy. He's alive, but I couldn't talk to him."

"What did they do to you?" Iggy asked because he couldn't see. I tried concentrating on Max's voice, but still, the other thoughts found their way in. We weren't the only ones here, and that didn't surprise me, but at least the thoughts I could hear the strongest came from Max, Iggy, and Nudge.

Max shivered. "They said we can save Gazzy and Angel. That if we pass their test, they'll let us go."

"That's a load of bullshit," I grunted.

"Well, we're going to have to play their game for a while if we're going to get out of here." Max reached for my hand. "And hope for the best when we've done what they want."

* * *

**Thanks for reading! More soon!**


	25. Chapter 25

**Cheating Death – Chapter 25**

By MyNameIsCAL

I woke up to blinding lights, my head feeling like it was going to explode. There were more thoughts now, more voices clouding my own thoughts, although I managed to fix onto Max's.

_Where are we?_ I asked her.

_I don't know. We were moved here when we were asleep, _Max responded.

It took me a while to adjust to the lighting. We were still in our clothes, which were now wrinkled and torn in a few places. Max was leaning against the opposite wall from me. I realized that each of us was chained to a wall.

"What are they going to do to us?" Nudge whimpered, shutting her eyes after a while.

Iggy blinked a few times, unaffected by the light. "I can hear someone through the wall. They're going to come in here soon. I can't tell anything else they're saying though."

I closed my eyes, trying to focus on the other side of Iggy's wall, but there was nothing but the roar of noise coming from the voices I couldn't sort out. The light suddenly dimmed, and I felt disoriented as a white coat stepped in. Jeb appeared behind the white coat, wearing normal clothes.

"This is your final test. It is simple. You pass it, you live. Make a wrong move, and you die." Jeb adjusted his glasses. "And if you get through everything, then maybe we can make a deal."

The white coat began to unchain us, and I slouched over onto the ground, the coldness of the concrete almost soothing to my head.

"You're such a traitor, Jeb!" Max snarled.

"No, Max. You only betrayed yourself."

The door closed and the lights intensified again, all of us cringing except for Iggy. Max came and sat next to me. For what seemed like the longest time, we sat there, wondering how much longer we would be stuck in here. Iggy went around the room, his hand sliding up against the wall.

_I want you to focus on my thoughts_, Max said, her eyes meeting mine. _You're going to be okay, Fang._

Iggy suddenly pushed up against one of the walls, and a doorway emerged. The light immediately darkened, and I could barely see the outline of Max sitting next to me.

_What just happened?_ I looked around.

_C'mon, I'll help you up_. Max took my hand and we stood.

"Iggy, it's dark in there," Nudge warned.

"Is it?" Iggy mumbled. "The room sounds…hollow…"

As soon as we all passed through the doorway, it shut behind us, and we were consumed in pitch black. Max's grip on my hand tightened.

"There are ledges," Iggy continued to speak, barely audible over all the things I could hear. "No one move."

There was silence for a moment, and then you could hear Iggy talk, now farther away.

_What did he say?_

_Take four steps forward and then three directly to the left_, Max answered.

I felt another hand slip into mine. Nudge's hand.

"Walk with me," she said. "I…I don't…"

_It's okay, Nudge_, I told her.

She started forward and Max and I moved after her. We did as we were told, Iggy's voice closer now when he spoke once again. In the darkness, we slowly moved according to Iggy's directions. There was something that he could hear, something that was helping him determine which way to go. And then we reached a dead end.

"No!" Iggy let out a cry of anger, and I found his train of thought soon after. _This was the only path. Every other place is a drop. _

"Maybe we were never meant to find a way out," I thought out loud.

Suddenly this vibration started to come from below us.

"The floor is…turning!" Iggy shouted.

It felt like I was falling backwards, and I leaned forward, feeling for the ledge and hitting the side of it.

"Don't let go!" Iggy sounded frantic. "Nudge, are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Ig."

"Max…Fang?"

"Yeah, we're fine!"

"Nudge, I love you."

Her voice quavered in response. "I love you too, Ig."

All you could hear was our breathing. In darkness, time almost felt infinite, although I was sure it was only a few minutes.

"Hey, there's a floor here."

"What?" Nudge sounded like she was out of breath.

"There was as floor, the whole goddamn time!" Iggy began to laugh. "Just let go. You're all too short to feel the ground."

I let go, Max following. She took my hand. We were still standing in darkness.

_Can you see anything?_ Iggy's voice came through.

_No, nothing. Just darkness_.

More time went by. Iggy began to lead us in another direction, the four of us chained together by hands. We were surrounded by walls now instead of ledges. I'm not sure if that sounded comforting though. What if the walls decided to close in on us? And the thoughts I could hear in my head, they were getting louder as we continued following Iggy. It took a lot of strength to even focus on what Max was saying to me.

"Do you feel that draft?" Iggy questioned.

I leaned against Max and she pulled my arm around her.

_Fang, focus! You're going to be fine._ Max's voice came through urgently.

"I found a door." As soon as Iggy said that, we were blinded by white light and hit by cold air. Stumbling forward, we entered a small confined room. For a moment, my head cleared.

And then Angel's voice came through. _Fang, you have to listen to me very carefully…_


End file.
